City of Glass by Cassandra Clare is the third in the Mortal Instruments series and ties up the first three books in the series. In it Valentine’s end game is revealed as is the truth about Jace’s lineage. What I liked Visiting Alicante, the so-called City of Glass. I was fascinated to see Alicante, the capital of the Shadowhunters. I personally would have liked to have seen more of how its inhabitants manage without electricity. Logical plot progression. All of the plot development within the book was entirely logical within the framework of the story. There were some surprises, certainly, but nothing to disrupt the internal logic of the story. The foreshadowing was well done and very subtle. The relationships. I was invested in all the key relationships: Jace/Clary, Luke/Jocelyn, Magnus/Alex. They were all beautifully written and I was happy that they worked out the way they did. What I didn’t like Pacing. For once I felt the pacing was slightly off. For a book that was supposed to tie up a lot of loose ends, there were a lot of slow moments, especially towards the beginning. Scenery chewing villains. Personally, I prefer my villains to be a little…
Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope is the first in The Austen Project series of books in which contemporary writers rework Austen’s classics to bring them into the modern day. In a world without the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Emma Approved and Clueless, Trollope’s updating of Sense and Sensibility might appear fresh and fun. In comparison to these other modernisations, however, it comes across as unimaginative and safe. Too often it appears Trollope has simply transposed the characters and situations from Regency England to the modern day without using more up to date equivalents. A few references to Facebook and Twitter don’t make a modern adaption. In all fairness, perhaps Trollope was given a tight brief by HarperCollins to keep it close to the original. What I liked Faithful to Austen’s characters. Trollope stayed true to Austen’s characters. Elinor is still the level head of the family, Marianne is still a hopeless romantic, Willoughby is still a cad. The relationships between them remained true to the original – the interactions between the characters still follow the same themes. The characters follow the same development arcs. It’s clear Trollope understands the motivations of her characters and the main themes of the…
Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope is the first in The Austen Project series of books in which contemporary writers rework Austen’s classics to bring them into the modern day. In a world without the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Emma Approved and Clueless, Trollope’s updating of Sense and Sensibility might appear fresh and fun. In comparison to these other modernisations, however, it comes across as unimaginative and safe. Too often it appears Trollope has simply transposed the characters and situations from Regency England to the modern day without using more up to date equivalents. A few references to Facebook and Twitter don’t make a modern adaption. In all fairness, perhaps Trollope was given a tight brief by HarperCollins to keep it close to the original. What I liked Faithful to Austen’s characters. Trollope stayed true to Austen’s characters. Elinor is still the level head of the family, Marianne is still a hopeless romantic, Willoughby is still a cad. The relationships between them remained true to the original – the interactions between the characters still follow the same themes. The characters follow the same development arcs. It’s clear Trollope understands the motivations of her characters and the main themes of the…
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is the sweet story of the romance between two misfit teens, Eleanor and Park. Neither of them fit in easily with their classmates; Eleanor because of her quirky appearance and Park because of his half Asian heritage in a predominantly white Omaha community. While Eleanor’s homelife is desperate and downright dangerous, Park comes from a loving and supportive family. When Eleanor sits beside Park on the school bus a sweet, beautifully written romance ensues. I read this after coming out of my post-Allegiant emotional hangover and it was the perfect antidote. Despite the terrible family situation in which Eleanor finds herself, the bright spot in her life provided by her friendship with Park is truly heartwarming. What I liked The characterisation. The novel is written from the dual viewpoints of Park and Eleanor, and both are beautifully and evocatively drawn, each with his or her own concerns and issues. The characters feel very alive, and it is very easy to root for both of them. Rowell has a real knack for making her characters seem real people. The romance. The love story between our two protagonists is beautifully and sweetly drawn. It starts…
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is the sweet story of the romance between two misfit teens, Eleanor and Park. Neither of them fit in easily with their classmates; Eleanor because of her quirky appearance and Park because of his half Asian heritage in a predominantly white Omaha community. While Eleanor’s homelife is desperate and downright dangerous, Park comes from a loving and supportive family. When Eleanor sits beside Park on the school bus a sweet, beautifully written romance ensues. I read this after coming out of my post-Allegiant emotional hangover and it was the perfect antidote. Despite the terrible family situation in which Eleanor finds herself, the bright spot in her life provided by her friendship with Park is truly heartwarming. What I liked The characterisation. The novel is written from the dual viewpoints of Park and Eleanor, and both are beautifully and evocatively drawn, each with his or her own concerns and issues. The characters feel very alive, and it is very easy to root for both of them. Rowell has a real knack for making her characters seem real people. The romance. The love story between our two protagonists is beautifully and sweetly drawn. It starts…
When I finished Allegiant I really couldn’t decide if it was a brilliant piece of writing or a garbled mess. However, given that I had a major emotional book hangover and couldn’t face picking up another book for several days, I’m going for the “brilliant piece of writing.” For those of you concerned about my mental wellbeing, I was rescued from the emotional depths by Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park, a sweet story of first love, so that in a couple of days I may actually be ready to go back to The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. So, onto Allegiant. It is difficult, if not impossible, to review Allegiant without spoilers, so please join me after the cut once you have read the book.
When I finished Allegiant I really couldn’t decide if it was a brilliant piece of writing or a garbled mess. However, given that I had a major emotional book hangover and couldn’t face picking up another book for several days, I’m going for the “brilliant piece of writing.” For those of you concerned about my mental wellbeing, I was rescued from the emotional depths by Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park, a sweet story of first love, so that in a couple of days I may actually be ready to go back to The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. So, onto Allegiant. It is difficult, if not impossible, to review Allegiant without spoilers, so please join me after the cut once you have read the book.
Mad About the Boy is Helen Fielding’s return to her heroine Bridget Jones after a break of 15 years. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to review Mad About the Boy without including spoilers, so if you have not read the book and do not want to be spoiled, please go away, read the book and come back later. We’ll be waiting.
Mad About the Boy is Helen Fielding’s return to her heroine Bridget Jones after a break of 15 years. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to review Mad About the Boy without including spoilers, so if you have not read the book and do not want to be spoiled, please go away, read the book and come back later. We’ll be waiting.
House of Hades is the fourth, and presumably, the penultimate in Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series. It continues the story of the seven demigods who are prophesied to work together to prevent the earth goddess Gaea from rising and populating the earth with her giants, presumably a VERY BAD THING. The overall impression I had was that House of Hades was Mark of Athena part II. It follows on directly from and continues the plot points from the previous book. In it the demigods continue to work on the task assigned to them in MoA – to close the Doors of Death. Books one and two form a pair – Jason and Percy’s swap – and so books three and four as well. Riordan has cleared the decks so to speak for the final push in book five, Blood of Olympus. I also had the strong feeling that this is Riordan preparing to say goodbye to the world of Percy Jackson. As far as I understand, his next project is a new series based on Norse mythology (Yeah! Loki! Odin! Thor! Sign me up for that!). Annabeth and Percy’s trip through Tartarus is pretty much a Percy and Annabeth’s Greatest…