Book 56

Book 56 was Magic for Beginners, a short story collection by Kelly Link.

This was so good. Read it. I can't really think of anything else to say-each story was so lovely and perfect. I would have killed to have some of these as full novels, if it wasn't for the fact I don't know that they would be as good fleshed out more.

My favorites:

The Fairy Handbag

Magic for Beginners

The Hortlak

Read it. That is all. Or just read the title story, Magic for Beginners. It was incredible.

Magic for Beginners

Kelly Link

nothing/56

Book 55

Book 55 was The Road, by Cormac McCarthay. I honestly don't know what is is with me and depressing books this year. This one was grim. Father and son travel through post apocalyptic world, making their way to the ocean and more "good" people. 

I just had to take a deep sigh. I like this book, and it read very quickly (I got through it in 4 hours). But wow, it was harsh. There was death, and cannibals, and slaves and other craziness. Not only do you have all of that loveliness, but the dad is getting quite sick as they make their way east. 

I did like the book, but I kept feeling as though I should be getting more of out of it than I did. I got "Wow, it sucks to live after what seems like an atomic bomb dropping. If I live, I am moving into Barnes and Noble (preferably one with a Starbucks in it) until the cannibals get me." I don't think that was supposed to be the message. I am pretty sure it was "disaster makes good people do morally gray things", or " having someone to love can get you through a lot of bad shit", or "being a good parent is hard, even in a wasteland with no one around" or "don't bomb people".  All good messages, only my personal one is the loudest.

I will read more Cormac McCarthy books. I will just make sure I sandwich them between nice, fluffy books.

The Road

Cormac McCarthy

who cares/55

Book 54

Look at the progress I am making! Woot!

Book 54 was Heart of Light, by Sarah A Hoyt. This is a sort of mystery, sort of quest, sort of romance novel. It's set in a Victorian world with magic-and flying carpets! The flying carpets were possibly one of the best elements in the book.

Heart of Light wasn't a bad book-just uneven. The romance part was handled pretty deftly, as you were kept unsure of who would be with who until the very end. The mystery was kind of silly and predictable-I knew what was going on before any of the characters in the book did, and that was sad. The quest was better, if a bit stale. Our heroes and heroines need to collect a magic ruby that can redistribute magic and get it to Queen Victoria before some horrible heathens get it.

The book really excelled when it was examining the class differences in the Victorian world. The reason the ruby needs to get to the Queen is so that the magic left in the world can be given to those who are "worthy" of it-aka the upper class and aristocracy. This has already been done once in Europe, and needs to be strengthen in order to clinch the British Empires hold on the world. But the ruby is located deep in Africa, and the people there are attempting to stop this stealing of magic from happening. The book take a good look at the perspectives of several levels of society-a typical British nobleman, his lady wife, a half Indian woman, an African woman who works as a servant despite being a high ranked lady in her village, another British gentlemen afflicted with a curse that ends his chances in the civilized world, and an African tribesman. All of their views are looked and examined, and I found it quite interesting to compare and contrast their world views.

Overall, the book was decent. It was a quick read, and despite a somewhat stale plot it still worked for me. I will complete the series-the other two books come out this year.

Heart of Light

Sarah A Hoyt

no clue/54

Book 53

Book 53 was Spindle's End, also by Robin McKinley. This is probably on the list of my favorite books-not quite top ten, but I would notice if I didn't have it around. 

This is a take on the story of Sleeping Beauty, set in a land where magic is a living, extremely crazy thing. Our little princess is raised by two fairies, taken away from her real parents after a nasty curse is put on her. Rosie, our princess, is the most normal of girls except for the fact she is raised by fairies and has no magic herself, despite being presumably related to two fairies, except for the ability to talk to animals. Rosie goes through the normal problems of growing up, only two find out just before her twenty first birthday she is a princess and heir to the throne. You can guess how it goes from there.

I love this book because I love Rosie-she is wonderful. Stubborn, quiet, and loyal, she ends up saving the day for everyone she loves as best as she can. The supporting characters are excellent as well-especially Katriona, the fairy who is given Rosie to care for. She puts her life on hold to raise Rosie for a number of years, and does everything she can to care and protect her. Rosie's two best friends, Peony the village beauty, and Narl, the blacksmith and Rosie's boss, also add to the book's theme of help comes from unexpected places and that friendship and love can and save anyone.

Spindle's End

Robin McKinley

I don't even know why I bother/53

Book 52

I am the worst book blogger ever. I went on a crazy reading run, and then watched season 1 & 2 of Gilmore Girls. Because of these two things, I haven't updated anything in forever. 

So, book 52 was Beauty by Robin McKinley. If I ever have a daughter, I will giver her every book written by Robing McKinley to use as a guide to how to be a kick ass female. Seriously.

If you couldn't tell, this was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I am a sucker for redone fairy tales, so this was a keeper for me. It was a quick read-Beauty was YA. It follows the basic Beauty and the Beast premise, only the heroine isn't really a beauty, just the bearer of an unfortunate nickname. The story moved quickly, and the prose was quite lovely.

Beauty

Robin McKinley

0/52/52

Books 50 & 51

50 and 51 are the first two in a YA fantasy series of four books-Alanna and In the Hand of the Goddess, by Tamora Pierce, from the Song of the Lioness. 

I enjoyed both books-they concern Alanna, a young mage born noble who doesn't want to go to a convent school to learn magic. She wants to go to Court and learn to be a knight. With her twin brother's aid, she assumes the name Alan and goes to Court in her brother's place. These two books take her from her start at court to her eventual knighthood.  She deals with various obstacles along the way-bullies, being the smallest and weakest page and squire, hiding being a girl, her first crush and learning to deal with her magic.

I liked the books. The world was engrossing, and following Alanna's struggles was fun. It was a bit mature for some YA audiences-Alanna does have an ongoing sexual relationship during the second book. The whole sex part was very tame and mild, and I thought it was a nice touch of realism in the story. 

My main problem was pacing-the book skipped lots of time, moving over a year in the space of a chapter. I also got annoyed by the perspective-it was third person, told mainly from Alanna's POV, but there was some skipping, and it was often done within a paragraph, which caused some confusion here and there.

Alanna

In the Hand of the Goddess

Tamora Pierce

?/?/51

Book 49

Fire Study by Maria V Snyder. Yeah, I was going to reread the entire series, but when it came time to I just didn't feel like it, so I just read this one, which is the last book of three.

I really liked this books, and it ended the series on a nice note. Pretty much all the loose plotlines were tied up, and our main character, Yelena, had come to terms with her life and what she wanted to do with it. Yay for resolving a series on a good note! And for not keeping all loveable characters alive!

This series (Poison Study and Magic study are one and two) is one a my favorites. Why? Well, Yelena starts out as a poison taster. Poison tasters are often seen in fantasy novels, but I can't think of one that actually has the main character be one, which is a interesting premise. The series also involves a country that is running as a military dictatorship that actually seems to be working-another rarity. Granted-the government is new, and the country just had a really bad king and queen combo, so it may not last forever, but it's a fresh start for a novel. The magic system isn't particularly original, but it works without any suspension of belief, which is enough for me.

My main complaint with the books is timing, especially in the second and third book. Things move really fast. That's nice since I don't like to be bored, but it can be a bit exhausting. The romance in the book is a bit cheesy during the actually romantic parts, but they aren't often enough to really grate on me.

I would recommend this series. It's a very original, fast paced and entertaining.

Fire Study

Maria V Snyder

?/?/49

Books 43-48

I am really bad at this updating thing, seriously.

Anyway, books 43-48 were the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison. They are, in series order, Dead Witch Walking, The Good, the Bad and the Undead, Every Which Way but Dead, A Fistful of Charms, For a Few Demons More, and The Outlaw Demon Wails. It's paranormal fantasy, set in a world where a massive genetic disease killed off most normal humans, allowing the typical paranormal set of races (witches, vampires, werewolves) with a few additions (pixies, fairies, gargoyles) take over.

This is a decent series overall-the main character is engaging and convincingly flawed, her friends are interesting, and the world itself is nicely done. The paranormal races seemed to be pretty carefully formulated-they don't deviate much from what their initial boundaries are, which is all to the good, in that characters (beyond our heroine, Rachel) are not constantly getting massive level boost each books, and skills they gain are gained through practice (yeah, I play D&D and like putting character ability progression in terms of level). 

My favorite part of the series overall is the friendship between Rachel (a witch) and her two business partners and best friends-Ivy, a vampire and Jenks, a pixy. Yes, there are pixies and fairies in this series, and it's fun, since their potential for sabotage is fully explored.  The three live and work together, and I love how their individual friendships with each other and their dynamic as a group is explored. The author really shows how a family can be created from people you love, not just blood ties.

Overall, the series is very fun, with a good balance of light and dark moments. Not heavy reads, but not a fluff festival by any means.

Dead Witch Walking The Good, the Bad and the Undead

Every Which Way but Dead A Fistful of Charms

For a Few Demons More The Outlaw Demon Wails

Kim Harrison

?/?/48

Book 42

Book 42 was The Other Boleyn Girl, by Phillippa Gregory. This reread was inspired by the fact a movie has just come out based on the book. I enjoy the story greatly, since I have always had a lot of interest in Queen Elizabeth I, and this was about her mother and aunt.

The novel focuses on Mary Boleyn, who was King Henry the VIII's mistress prior to Anne Boleyn marrying him. The book takes a look at the machinations that went on by the Boleyn family to get Henry's attention and favor to the betterment of their family. The book is a quick read, and you feel for Mary throughout the whole story-she just wants to be left with her children, but is used as a pawn by almost everyone in the ever ending game of thrones.

The Other Boleyn Girl

Philippa Gregory

1/21/41

Book 41

Book 41 was a reread of Tangled Webs. I love rereading books.

Tangled Webs Reivew

Tangled Webs

Anne Bishop

1/20/40

Book 40

Book 40 was Morgan's Run, by Colleen McCullough. This is another of my favorite books (I have a lot cause I have no taste). It's set in the late 1700s, and it is about a man, who through a bad run of luck, ends up being one of the first convicts transported to Australia. 

The book is a good cross between a heavy, dramatic historical novel and a lighter, more fun adventure story. The lightness and humor is a good thing-the horrors of life for the convicts are harsh, and the book doesn't pull any punches regarding the multiple indignities of their lives. The book isn't really depressing, just heavy in tone. I love books that force me to look up stuff, and from reading this multiple times I have ended up looking up a great deal about the founding of Australia and learning much more than I ever did in school. 

Morgan's Run

Colleen McCullough

1/19/40

Book 39

Number 39 was The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison, the sixth book in her Rachel Morgan series. I really liked the book, and will go into detail when I finish my reread of the entire series-I am just about to start rereading this one now. 

The Outlaw Demon Wails

Kim Harrison

na/18/39

Book 38

Book 38 was Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder, the third in her study series. These books have been favorites of mine since I read the first, Poison Study. I am not going to go to indepth here, since I am planning on rereading the series shortly and will review it as a whole (so much easier), but the book was great and a good ending to the series overall.

Fire Study

Maria V. Snyder

na/17/38