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patchworkbunny's Reviews (2.12k)
I must say I like the plot device where Harry's subconcious sums up the plot about half way through. Great way to recap! In the second instalment of the Dresden Files, Harry takes on furries of several different kinds. If you liked the first book, you'll enjoy this one too, just as logn as you don't take Harry too seriously. I always imagine him as the type of wizard that would have come out of Unseen University :)
The Weird family have always been a little, well, weird but when their grandmother announces she will die at 7:39 pm on April 20th, Angie discovers her and her siblings were cursed at birth. Grandmother Weird had meant them as blessings but each has ruined their lives. Kent will never lose a fight, Lucy will never get lost, Richard will always be safe, Abba will never lose hope and Angie will always forgive. If they are all present at her time of death, the curses will be lifted. Yet the Weirds aren’t a close-knit family and Angie must track them down and convince them.
One word to describe Born Weird is weird but Andrew Kaufman’s writing is surreally charming. He manages to be both light-hearted and serious at the same time; there’s lots of amusing lines and passages but at the heart of it is the message that getting things wrong is part of life. They might be weird but their dynamics are that of many a large family, the interactions between siblings completely believable.
I loved Rainytown, the imaginary town they made out of card and scraps as children and kept cropping up throughout the story. There’s a race against time across Canada and a lot of bad haircuts in this short but perfectly entertaining novel.
One word to describe Born Weird is weird but Andrew Kaufman’s writing is surreally charming. He manages to be both light-hearted and serious at the same time; there’s lots of amusing lines and passages but at the heart of it is the message that getting things wrong is part of life. They might be weird but their dynamics are that of many a large family, the interactions between siblings completely believable.
I loved Rainytown, the imaginary town they made out of card and scraps as children and kept cropping up throughout the story. There’s a race against time across Canada and a lot of bad haircuts in this short but perfectly entertaining novel.
Fancying a bit of non-taxing reading over the last few days, I picked up book two in the Black Dagger brotherhood series, ready to give it another go. Lover Eternal follows a similar formula to Dark Lover but focuses on Rhage aka Hollywood. Cursed with the beast, he keeps it bay with casual sex and violence (not at the same time) but when he meets Mary, things start to change. But Mary is sick and human and does not belong in the warriors’ world.
I found the relationship incredibly predictable, just as in the first book it’s all about the dangerous, untouchable vampire warrior seeing the error of his ways and finding love. But meanwhile, Tohrment and Wellsie take in a pre-transition vampire, John, who was born without a voice-box. There’s an obvious connection to Darius (the one that died at the start of book one) and it’s a storyline that’s keeping me hanging on.
Whilst I really enjoyed the involvement of the lessers in Dark Lover I found O’s story broke the pace a little. It was more of the same and only really got interesting near the end when he takes action against one of the main characters. However is was an absorbing and easy read and the crux of the matter was, when I got to the end, one of the character’s seemed to have been forgotten about despite being in mortal peril last time they were seen. So of course I had to read on…
I found the relationship incredibly predictable, just as in the first book it’s all about the dangerous, untouchable vampire warrior seeing the error of his ways and finding love. But meanwhile, Tohrment and Wellsie take in a pre-transition vampire, John, who was born without a voice-box. There’s an obvious connection to Darius (the one that died at the start of book one) and it’s a storyline that’s keeping me hanging on.
Whilst I really enjoyed the involvement of the lessers in Dark Lover I found O’s story broke the pace a little. It was more of the same and only really got interesting near the end when he takes action against one of the main characters. However is was an absorbing and easy read and the crux of the matter was, when I got to the end, one of the character’s seemed to have been forgotten about despite being in mortal peril last time they were seen. So of course I had to read on…
Lover Awakened follows the brother that I was most interested in as a character in the first book; Zsadist. His past is revealed and we learn why he’s like he is and the reality behind his reputation. With a background of abuse, the other brothers think he’s beyond redemption but Bella won’t give up on him. This was my favourite book of the series so far; Zsadist’s reluctance in the sex department prevents some of the over-the-top sex scenes as well.
So I thought I was finally getting into the series and there are lots of loose ends from book to book so I carried on and read Lover Revealed. This time Butch and Marissa take the driving seat for the main relationship plot. She’s having trouble existing in the world of aristocracy who snub her for her involvement (or lack of it) with Wrath (see book one). Butch has been a bit stalkery since they last met but has pretty much come to terms with the fact that she doesn’t want him, hanging out with his roomie Vishous (who seem to be getting very close).
I got a bit fed up of all the misunderstandings between Butch and Marissa. I think after the first few crossed wires they should have guessed that they were always getting the wrong end of the stick. It’s one of those devices that generally annoys me so to be used repeatedly, argh! However the more interesting story is that of Butch and the lessers. He is taken hostage near the start and they do something to him. I wish more effort had been put into his emotional responses to what was happening to him rather than mooning over Marissa. The transformation of his character will be interesting for future books. I was tempted to go onto the next book to find out about Vishous who feels like he could be an interesting character underneath the veneer, but I really was starting to tire of the formula.
I have mixed feelings about this series. On one hand there are plenty of storylines and characters that I want to keep reading about but the individual books seem drawn out. The sex scenes come across as a little cheesy and some of the relationships just turn to mush. It’s a good idea to look at is as a soap opera of sorts. I will read it for the on-going plot lines rather than the individual stories which are a little too formulaic for my taste. Maybe that will change; I know it’s a very popular series!
I got a bit fed up of all the misunderstandings between Butch and Marissa. I think after the first few crossed wires they should have guessed that they were always getting the wrong end of the stick. It’s one of those devices that generally annoys me so to be used repeatedly, argh! However the more interesting story is that of Butch and the lessers. He is taken hostage near the start and they do something to him. I wish more effort had been put into his emotional responses to what was happening to him rather than mooning over Marissa. The transformation of his character will be interesting for future books. I was tempted to go onto the next book to find out about Vishous who feels like he could be an interesting character underneath the veneer, but I really was starting to tire of the formula.
I have mixed feelings about this series. On one hand there are plenty of storylines and characters that I want to keep reading about but the individual books seem drawn out. The sex scenes come across as a little cheesy and some of the relationships just turn to mush. It’s a good idea to look at is as a soap opera of sorts. I will read it for the on-going plot lines rather than the individual stories which are a little too formulaic for my taste. Maybe that will change; I know it’s a very popular series!
Dogboy lives in the dump with his best friend Caz. He earns pennies to feed them both by assisting the rat-catcher Bill Grubstaff. When he is offered work by a local scientist, he is soon drawn into a plot to declare war on rats. Below ground the rats are mourning the loss of their king and preparing to crown his successor. Young taster Efren, goes against the rules of the kingdom and follows his old king above ground, only to witness his capture and resulting torture. By the very man now employing Dogboy. As their two worlds cross paths, both sides are preparing to do battle.
Never has the death of rats been so upsetting. The dual narrative of The Twyning means the story is told from both human and rodent perspectives and boy, are those perspectives different. I loved the contrast in perception between the two. Above ground rats are a problem and killing them a normal every day act. Even our human protagonist is an assistant to a rat-catcher but he is never portrayed as evil. Down below, the rats see humans as the enemy (rightly so) but they also have their own social structure and governance. Their society is shown not to be better than humanity but in parallel to it. One regime may be fair and just but the next is corrupt and oppressive.
I found the rats remained rattish throughout. To get round communication problems, Blacker has made them communicate through a form of telepathy (hey, we can’t prove otherwise and real rats do use a supersonic form of communication). So no, there are not really talking rats, something their anatomy wouldn’t allow. Even their “pulse” is a real thing, a distress signal that rats send out when they need help. OK I’m starting to become fascinated by rats now!
It was interesting to see that the idea stemmed from scientific study into whether rats possess empathy. The actual study involved a rat freeing another from a Perspex box. Where there was also chocolate available in another box, the rescuer would still free the rat first and then share the chocolate, even going so far as to carry the treats over to the distressed rat! Scientists may argue over the motive for this but I think it shows that rats are capable of acting better than some humans. And that is something that’s important to the novel.
At times the tone becomes a little like a children’s book. It is certainly not aimed at children; there’s plenty of violence and at least one scene that can only be described as gruesome. Maybe it’s the effects of having a rat as a narrator, who is intelligent in his own way but maybe not to the standard of a human adult.
The Twyning of the title is what is called a rat king in the real world. I don’t think I quite understood what it was at first, imagining a sort of conjoined twin. A rat king is a litter of rats who join together at their tails, whether tangled up or through layers of dirt (and worse). These groups can have up to 30 rats bound together! Later on, it does become clearer (and actually re-reading the first chapter, I’m not sure why I didn’t pick up on it). I’m not sure if googling it is beneficial; there is a scary mummified rat king in a German museum which doesn’t quite fit the tone of the book. The Twyning is seen and some sort of sacred animal treated with respect and consulted on matters of importance to the kingdom. However you perceive the creature, its significance is felt and I did find myself worrying about it at several points.
Whilst there were aspects that weren’t perfect, I really rather enjoyed this unique and entertaining tale. I found myself tearing up in places and cheering on the rat army in others. If you have ever looked in a rat’s eye and seen a spark of intelligence, you will love this book.
Never has the death of rats been so upsetting. The dual narrative of The Twyning means the story is told from both human and rodent perspectives and boy, are those perspectives different. I loved the contrast in perception between the two. Above ground rats are a problem and killing them a normal every day act. Even our human protagonist is an assistant to a rat-catcher but he is never portrayed as evil. Down below, the rats see humans as the enemy (rightly so) but they also have their own social structure and governance. Their society is shown not to be better than humanity but in parallel to it. One regime may be fair and just but the next is corrupt and oppressive.
I found the rats remained rattish throughout. To get round communication problems, Blacker has made them communicate through a form of telepathy (hey, we can’t prove otherwise and real rats do use a supersonic form of communication). So no, there are not really talking rats, something their anatomy wouldn’t allow. Even their “pulse” is a real thing, a distress signal that rats send out when they need help. OK I’m starting to become fascinated by rats now!
It was interesting to see that the idea stemmed from scientific study into whether rats possess empathy. The actual study involved a rat freeing another from a Perspex box. Where there was also chocolate available in another box, the rescuer would still free the rat first and then share the chocolate, even going so far as to carry the treats over to the distressed rat! Scientists may argue over the motive for this but I think it shows that rats are capable of acting better than some humans. And that is something that’s important to the novel.
At times the tone becomes a little like a children’s book. It is certainly not aimed at children; there’s plenty of violence and at least one scene that can only be described as gruesome. Maybe it’s the effects of having a rat as a narrator, who is intelligent in his own way but maybe not to the standard of a human adult.
The Twyning of the title is what is called a rat king in the real world. I don’t think I quite understood what it was at first, imagining a sort of conjoined twin. A rat king is a litter of rats who join together at their tails, whether tangled up or through layers of dirt (and worse). These groups can have up to 30 rats bound together! Later on, it does become clearer (and actually re-reading the first chapter, I’m not sure why I didn’t pick up on it). I’m not sure if googling it is beneficial; there is a scary mummified rat king in a German museum which doesn’t quite fit the tone of the book. The Twyning is seen and some sort of sacred animal treated with respect and consulted on matters of importance to the kingdom. However you perceive the creature, its significance is felt and I did find myself worrying about it at several points.
Whilst there were aspects that weren’t perfect, I really rather enjoyed this unique and entertaining tale. I found myself tearing up in places and cheering on the rat army in others. If you have ever looked in a rat’s eye and seen a spark of intelligence, you will love this book.
Molly is packing up her house in Leigh-on-Sea. The Essex town she grew up in and swore she’d leave behind forever. She is packing alone. As she puts memories away into boxes, she looks back on her life and all the kisses. Ryan Cooper, her first love.
The First Last Kiss jumps about in time from Molly’s teenage years through college, first jobs and her on/off relationship with Ryan. Those who prefer a linear narrative might struggle and I did find it was a book easy to put down in the first half. You have to keep picking up threads of different stories but it sucks you in as the book progresses. What it does really well, is portray a very real life cycle of a relationship. The close-calls and arguments, the compromises and the realisation that growing up doesn’t mean getting to live your dreams. Ryan isn’t perfect but then neither is Molly. They have differences and Molly wants more from life than Ryan, something which drives a wedge between them.
Ali Harris uses little bits of culture, technology and fashion to mark the passing of time. She cleverly chooses Take That as Ryan’s favourite band as they also span the timeframe (1994-2012). She has a playful poke at Essex boys and girls and follows a lot of the milestones of growing up; not just the romantic kind but things like holidays to Ibiza and moving out.
I kind of had an idea about what would eventually happen right at the start. Whilst it’s not necessarily predictable, the tone of the current day chapters gave me an inkling. I did find that knowing Molly is alone at the start made me feel a little like I was waiting for the story to catch up. The last quarter was definitely the best for me but do be prepared to have hankies at the ready.
The First Last Kiss jumps about in time from Molly’s teenage years through college, first jobs and her on/off relationship with Ryan. Those who prefer a linear narrative might struggle and I did find it was a book easy to put down in the first half. You have to keep picking up threads of different stories but it sucks you in as the book progresses. What it does really well, is portray a very real life cycle of a relationship. The close-calls and arguments, the compromises and the realisation that growing up doesn’t mean getting to live your dreams. Ryan isn’t perfect but then neither is Molly. They have differences and Molly wants more from life than Ryan, something which drives a wedge between them.
Ali Harris uses little bits of culture, technology and fashion to mark the passing of time. She cleverly chooses Take That as Ryan’s favourite band as they also span the timeframe (1994-2012). She has a playful poke at Essex boys and girls and follows a lot of the milestones of growing up; not just the romantic kind but things like holidays to Ibiza and moving out.
I kind of had an idea about what would eventually happen right at the start. Whilst it’s not necessarily predictable, the tone of the current day chapters gave me an inkling. I did find that knowing Molly is alone at the start made me feel a little like I was waiting for the story to catch up. The last quarter was definitely the best for me but do be prepared to have hankies at the ready.
Deirdre Monaghan usually only has to worry about throwing up before a performance. A talented harpist, she is used to being on the side lines at school, with her best friend James. Until one day she’s doing her normal pre-performance vomiting when Luke turns up to hold her hair back. She’s never seen him at school before but when he requests to play a duet with her, she can’t resist and they wow the audience with their music. Soon strange things start to happen and Luke is unable to tell her his secret. But Deirdre starts to add things up and comes up with…fairies.
Maggie Stiefvater plays with the old myths of fairies stealing people away and the idea that the fae are dangerous. I do enjoy her writing and this is the first of her books that I haven’t absolutely adored. I felt the relationship between Deirdre and Luke was a bit sappy and she wasn’t conflicted enough about it considering what she learns out. It doesn’t take much from her to go from sceptical to moony.
It’s an easy to read book but I find myself not really having much to say about it. Maybe I had too high expectations after Shiver and The Scorpio Races. I will probably read the sequel, Ballad, mostly because the fey world holds potential and I already have a copy!
Maggie Stiefvater plays with the old myths of fairies stealing people away and the idea that the fae are dangerous. I do enjoy her writing and this is the first of her books that I haven’t absolutely adored. I felt the relationship between Deirdre and Luke was a bit sappy and she wasn’t conflicted enough about it considering what she learns out. It doesn’t take much from her to go from sceptical to moony.
It’s an easy to read book but I find myself not really having much to say about it. Maybe I had too high expectations after Shiver and The Scorpio Races. I will probably read the sequel, Ballad, mostly because the fey world holds potential and I already have a copy!
No one really knew the Man from Primrose Lane. Tom Sackett always called him the Man with a Thousand Mittens because each time he left the house he appeared to be wearing a different pair. When he is found brutally murdered, the police try to track down his family only to find he was using a fake identity. With the investigation at a standstill, true crime writer and widower David Neff is approached by his publisher to write a book about the man and perhaps uncover the truth. But soon David becomes embroiled in a plot that he could never have dreamt up in his wildest dreams.
What starts out as an intriguing crime story soon pans out into something more which will keep your brain going round in circles. David is a single father and still hasn’t quite got over the suicide of his wife 4 years earlier, who we find out about through flashbacks. He has made enough money from his first book never to work again so he is reluctant to get involved with the Man From Primrose Lane story.
The man had been obsessed with a young woman, Katy. He had paintings of her and journals of her life. Katy had never met the man before and everyone assumes it was a case of stalking. But Katy reminds David so much of his late wife and then Elizabeth’s fingerprints are discovered on the bed at Primrose Lane. There is a lot going on in this novel but all the threads eventually come together; without giving too much away it’s a wonderful fusion of crime and science fiction.
I’m starting to instinctively dislike the trend of making main characters authors in novels, especially making them out to be unrealistically successful. Here it seems making David so rich from his writing was a convenient way for him not to have to worry about having him go to work or worry about how to raise his son. There are also a few too many moments given over to things-that-successful-authors do; dealing with Facebook fans, signing books, literary snobbery; really things that have nothing to do with the otherwise interesting and complicated plot. The Man From Primrose Lane feels like it wants to be Stephen King at times which is only reinforced by the protagonist’s profession.
There are some bits that just seem a bit silly and out of place. For anyone else that has read it; what the hell was going on with that cat? Even if the science-fiction element was far-fetched, it works in a fictional capacity but adding supernatural elements without context was odd. The best bits are definitely the aspects that would be considered spoilers, so you’ll just have to read it to find out.
What starts out as an intriguing crime story soon pans out into something more which will keep your brain going round in circles. David is a single father and still hasn’t quite got over the suicide of his wife 4 years earlier, who we find out about through flashbacks. He has made enough money from his first book never to work again so he is reluctant to get involved with the Man From Primrose Lane story.
The man had been obsessed with a young woman, Katy. He had paintings of her and journals of her life. Katy had never met the man before and everyone assumes it was a case of stalking. But Katy reminds David so much of his late wife and then Elizabeth’s fingerprints are discovered on the bed at Primrose Lane. There is a lot going on in this novel but all the threads eventually come together; without giving too much away it’s a wonderful fusion of crime and science fiction.
I’m starting to instinctively dislike the trend of making main characters authors in novels, especially making them out to be unrealistically successful. Here it seems making David so rich from his writing was a convenient way for him not to have to worry about having him go to work or worry about how to raise his son. There are also a few too many moments given over to things-that-successful-authors do; dealing with Facebook fans, signing books, literary snobbery; really things that have nothing to do with the otherwise interesting and complicated plot. The Man From Primrose Lane feels like it wants to be Stephen King at times which is only reinforced by the protagonist’s profession.
There are some bits that just seem a bit silly and out of place. For anyone else that has read it; what the hell was going on with that cat? Even if the science-fiction element was far-fetched, it works in a fictional capacity but adding supernatural elements without context was odd. The best bits are definitely the aspects that would be considered spoilers, so you’ll just have to read it to find out.
It’s the summer of 1976 and Britain is in the grip of a heatwave. Robert Riordan pops out to buy a newspaper and doesn’t come back. Gretta turns to her grown children for help, despite their differences in the past; they converge on the family home in London to looks for clues on their father’s whereabouts. But each one has their own secrets and grudges simmering under the surface.
Maggie is undoubtedly a talented writer. Her writing makes you feel part of the scene and her characterisation is some of the best there is. There’s one part where Michael Francis is trying to manage dinner with the kids and you can feel your blood pressure rise with his. It is just spot on and it is something to create dramatic tension in such a domestic, everyday situation.
Aoife’s story was the one I was most drawn to. Having never learned to read (it is clear to the reader that she has undiagnosed dyslexia) she struggles in her job and keeps the secret from the world. She is the most estranged family member, having moved to New York to escape her old life. It is clear from Monica’s storyline that something has come between them. I felt for Aoife so much; how difficult it must be to live without being able to read even simple things. Something we take for granted. Certainly something that would be completely isolating in this day and age of internet and text messaging, but still frightening enough in her world. Every time she put something in that file, I felt scared for her.
I was a bit disappointed that the heatwave didn’t play a more important part. In the opening pages, the heat is oppressive and feels like it will dominate every action. There are a few wonderful little snippets of information such as illegal baths that I personally wanted more of. The heat soon fades into the background and seems forgotten about. I never got the feeling that the heat was the blame for any of it.
Whilst her characters jumped off the page, I found the overall plot a little weak. Each character has their own important story but the backbone of the novel should have been the father’s disappearance. He was barely mentioned and it made the characters come across as self-absorbed. He is really just a vehicle to get the family together and interacting. I haven’t read any of her books before and I don’t know if this is something of her style. If that’s the case, I’m sure it won’t bother fans and like I said before, her writing is wonderful in itself.
There are quite a few things that are implied rather than stated which gave me a slight feeling of it being unfinished. I got to the last page and felt there should have been something more definite. It’s easy to infer answers but I do like some conclusion in a book.
Maggie is undoubtedly a talented writer. Her writing makes you feel part of the scene and her characterisation is some of the best there is. There’s one part where Michael Francis is trying to manage dinner with the kids and you can feel your blood pressure rise with his. It is just spot on and it is something to create dramatic tension in such a domestic, everyday situation.
Aoife’s story was the one I was most drawn to. Having never learned to read (it is clear to the reader that she has undiagnosed dyslexia) she struggles in her job and keeps the secret from the world. She is the most estranged family member, having moved to New York to escape her old life. It is clear from Monica’s storyline that something has come between them. I felt for Aoife so much; how difficult it must be to live without being able to read even simple things. Something we take for granted. Certainly something that would be completely isolating in this day and age of internet and text messaging, but still frightening enough in her world. Every time she put something in that file, I felt scared for her.
I was a bit disappointed that the heatwave didn’t play a more important part. In the opening pages, the heat is oppressive and feels like it will dominate every action. There are a few wonderful little snippets of information such as illegal baths that I personally wanted more of. The heat soon fades into the background and seems forgotten about. I never got the feeling that the heat was the blame for any of it.
Whilst her characters jumped off the page, I found the overall plot a little weak. Each character has their own important story but the backbone of the novel should have been the father’s disappearance. He was barely mentioned and it made the characters come across as self-absorbed. He is really just a vehicle to get the family together and interacting. I haven’t read any of her books before and I don’t know if this is something of her style. If that’s the case, I’m sure it won’t bother fans and like I said before, her writing is wonderful in itself.
There are quite a few things that are implied rather than stated which gave me a slight feeling of it being unfinished. I got to the last page and felt there should have been something more definite. It’s easy to infer answers but I do like some conclusion in a book.