Those of you who follow my blog will notice a name change. As my husband and I became Canadian citizens this week, I have changed the name to Canadian eReader. It’s not that I’m turning my back on my Scottish roots, but as I live in Canada and my eReading is based on the Canadian market it made sense to update it. Of course, book lovers of whichever nationality are always welcome! Added to my library this week This week saw the release of City of Heavenly Fire, the last in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series. I’m in the middle of reading it – it’s irritating that work keeps getting in the way – so expect a review soon. So far I’m enjoying it and appreciating Sophie Turner’s narration. That’s all I’ve added to my library this week. I picked it up in both Kindle and Audible formats. Upcoming releases in June On 3rd of June we have the release of Prince of Fools, the first in Mark Lawrence’s new series, The Red Queen’s War. Lawrence’s previous series, The Broken Empire, sucked me in, almost against my will, and Emperor of Thorns is still one of my top…
Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly is the first in the Waterfire Saga and tells the story of mermaid princess Serafina, who, along with several of her friends, is called to fulfil an ancient prophecy and prevent an untold evil from rising. What i liked The worldbuilding. There are not that many mermaid books around that I’m aware of – Anna Banks’ Syrena Legacy series excepted – so I found this a fresh change. I loved the world Donnelly created, complete with languages and histories and mythologies. The little fishy reference such as merlfriend instead of girlfriend were rather amusing. The pacing. Donnelly keeps the plot moving along briskly with something always happening and a new danger to escape. What I didn’t like Bland characters. While the characters were OK, and their mermaidness added some interest, other than that they were cookie-cutter YA heroines with little depth to them. Generic plot. The plot is your generic teens have to bind together to track down the McGuffin to prevent the Big Bad from doing what he or she wants to do. So far there were no interesting twists to this. The narration. I started listening to the audiobook, but within…
Midnight Crossroad is the first in a new supernatural mystery series from Sookie Stackhouse writer Charlaine Harris. it has a very similar feel to Sookie and if you enjoyed that series you will likely get a lot of pleasure from Midnight Crossroad, too. This new series is set in Texas rather than Louisiana, but keeps that small-town feel. It centres on the inhabitants of a small town, Midnight, and the secrets they hide. I’m not certain if this is intended to be set in the same world as Sookie. It’s perhaps a little early to tell – it could go either way. There is nothing to say one way or the other. In any case, it is very enjoyable. What I liked Ensemble cast. Unlike The Southern Vampire Mystery series, which concentrates mainly on Sookie, and is told from her point of view, Midnight Crossroad has multiple points of view from interesting characters. I enjoyed hearing from all of them, and it was interesting hearing the story from different sides. Each of the characters had his or her own secret and reason for moving to this small town. Sometimes I did struggle to remember which characters know…
Midnight Crossroad is the first in a new supernatural mystery series from Sookie Stackhouse writer Charlaine Harris. it has a very similar feel to Sookie and if you enjoyed that series you will likely get a lot of pleasure from Midnight Crossroad, too. This new series is set in Texas rather than Louisiana, but keeps that small-town feel. It centres on the inhabitants of a small town, Midnight, and the secrets they hide. I’m not certain if this is intended to be set in the same world as Sookie. It’s perhaps a little early to tell – it could go either way. There is nothing to say one way or the other. In any case, it is very enjoyable. What I liked Ensemble cast. Unlike The Southern Vampire Mystery series, which concentrates mainly on Sookie, and is told from her point of view, Midnight Crossroad has multiple points of view from interesting characters. I enjoyed hearing from all of them, and it was interesting hearing the story from different sides. Each of the characters had his or her own secret and reason for moving to this small town. Sometimes I did struggle to remember which characters know…
Next week sees the release of City of Heavenly Fire – the last in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series and the marketing is in full swing. The book trailer was released recently – check it out. For me the most interesting thing about it was Sophie Turner’s voiceover – I had been intrigued to see how she handles the audiobook narration. From what I see she will do well. I’m really excited to listen to the audiobook, now. Simon and Schuster has released a snippet of the audiobook which you can listen to below. Again this has whetted my appetite for the book. I’m not familiar with Jason Dohring, so I can’t say what his narration will be like, but I’m looking forward to it anyway. Kat of Katytastic and Christine of PolandBananasBOOKS have come up with some theories. I’m not entirely sold on their Izzy theory, but their enthusiasm for the book is so infectious. Go check it out if you want some ideas. On Tor.com this week you can find an excerpt of upcoming YA fantasy Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. It tells the story of Kelsea, a princess in hiding who must now take…
Ironskin by Tina Connelly is a retelling of Jane Eyre with a fantasy twist. Unlike similar classic/fantasy blends such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Jane Slayre, Ironskin avoids the humorous side of such a juxtaposition and plays it relatively straight. It tells the story of Jane Eliot, a young woman who must wear an iron mask to contain the effects of a injury sustained in the war against the fae. Although the war is long over, she is still very much an outcast and takes employment with one Mr. Rochart looking after his young daughter, Dorie. Dorie, it seems, has also been affected by the fae. What I liked The adaptation. This version, while not following the exact plotline of Jane Eyre, does an excellent job of maintaining the characterisations and emotional beats of the original story. Like Jane Eyre, our Jane Eliot lives at the fringes of her society, and this has a large influence on her character. Edward too, is very similar to the Edward Rochester of the book – his guilt for his past is a block in his admitting his feelings for Jane. Ironskin focusses mainly on the Jane/Edward relationship and hits most of…
Ironskin by Tina Connelly is a retelling of Jane Eyre with a fantasy twist. Unlike similar classic/fantasy blends such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Jane Slayre, Ironskin avoids the humorous side of such a juxtaposition and plays it relatively straight. It tells the story of Jane Eliot, a young woman who must wear an iron mask to contain the effects of a injury sustained in the war against the fae. Although the war is long over, she is still very much an outcast and takes employment with one Mr. Rochart looking after his young daughter, Dorie. Dorie, it seems, has also been affected by the fae. What I liked The adaptation. This version, while not following the exact plotline of Jane Eyre, does an excellent job of maintaining the characterisations and emotional beats of the original story. Like Jane Eyre, our Jane Eliot lives at the fringes of her society, and this has a large influence on her character. Edward too, is very similar to the Edward Rochester of the book – his guilt for his past is a block in his admitting his feelings for Jane. Ironskin focusses mainly on the Jane/Edward relationship and hits most of…
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is the story of Ursula Todd who has the ability to rewind mistakes in her life. I actually found this quite a difficult book to review. There was a lot I liked about it, but a lot that really irritated me, too. I was really torn about what rating to give it. There are minor spoilers in here, so I will hide them after the cut.
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is the story of Ursula Todd who has the ability to rewind mistakes in her life. I actually found this quite a difficult book to review. There was a lot I liked about it, but a lot that really irritated me, too. I was really torn about what rating to give it. There are minor spoilers in here, so I will hide them after the cut.
As my regular readers may have noticed, I review books in both ebook and audiobook format. I thought it might be interesting to split these off for those of you who have a preferred format. eBook reviews can be found here. Audiobooks reviews are here. The full review listing is available on the homepage. Enjoy.