Reading Roundup – 27th September 2013
Reading Roundup / September 27, 2013

I hope you enjoyed last week’s guest post from Azrael, but now it’s back to regular programming.  The books I have read in the last few weeks have all been worthy of full reviews, so expect to see them in the next few weeks.  This week I started listening to Steelheart of which I have heard the first few chapters a few weeks ago when Audible released them early, free of charge.  I do enjoy Sanderson’s writing so I’m really looking forward to this one. I’m also reading an ARC of Paul S. Kemp’s The Godborn.  Expect reviews of these two soon.   Added to my library this week One series I love listening to on Audible is the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.  I used an Audible credit to add book 5, Death Masks, to my library.  I’m looking forward to this, but it will likely be a few weeks before I get the chance to listen to it. One of the books on Audible’s daily deals this week was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.  This is a very interesting tale, and I was happy to add it to my library for the couple of dollars that…

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier – Review
Audiobook reviews , Book Reviews / July 8, 2013

Emerald Green is the final book in Kerstin Gier’s Gem Trilogy.  It follows Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue.  Originally released in German, the English translation is not available until October 2013.  However, as I read German I can and will review it for you. The three books in the trilogy read like one long book cut into three parts rather than three separate novels with separate stories and one overarching plot line. I will be reviewing them as such. As I mentioned in my recent Reading Review, I was introduced to the books fairly recently and I devoured all three in a matter of days.  They tell the story of Gwyneth (Gwendolyn in the original German) who learns that her family is the carrier of a gene allowing her to travel through time.  Unlike her cousin, she has not been inducted into the family’s secrets, so she must work things out on her own, with the help of the mysterious and attractive Gideon. What I liked Gwyneth’s “voice.”  I loved Gwyneth’s humour and warmth as she comes to terms with her situation.  Having compared the English and German original the translator has done great work bringing that across.  I liked that…

Reading Roundup – 28th June 2013
Book Reviews , Reading Roundup / June 28, 2013

This week I finished The Gem Trilogy by Kerstin Gier, which I absolutely adored.  I will say though that it is one long book divided into three parts rather than three separate books with an overarching storyline – the first two novels don’t really have a strong ending.  For this reason you may wish to wait before starting the trilogy as the final book, Emerald Green, is not due out in English until October – unless you read German, that is. There were several twists in the final volume, some of which were clearly signposted along the way, others more surprising – I found that Gier had a nice balance there. I continued to enjoy the character of Gwen and her adventures.  The fact that the subtitle of “love throughout the ages” can be applied to more than one couple was very appealing to me.  I would certainly recommend this trilogy, although I recommend waiting a few months until the English translation is available!  Check out the Gem Trilogy on Kindle, Kobo, iBook and Audible formats. The next book I read/listened to was Brandon Sanderson’s new YA novel The Rithmatist.  As an aside, I would not recommend listening to this…

Reading Roundup – 21st June 2013
Book Reviews , Reading Roundup / June 21, 2013

This week could more easily have been described as “listening roundup” as I’ve been listening more than reading – or rather I have been listening and reading along on my brand spanking new Kindle Fire. Here is what I have been reading and listening to this past week.  I recently finished Siege and Storm in both Kindle and Audible by Leigh Bardugo, the followup to Shadow and Bone.  To be honest I was rather disappointed in this book.  I loved the Russian-style setting of the first book, and my enjoyment of this continued into the second book.  However, I found the pacing of this second book rather slow.  After a promising start, the story slows down to a crawl.  It also annoys me when young protagonists suddenly find themselves in a leadership position with no training or experience, just because they have some unrelated power.   On a positive side some new and very interesting characters were introduced, especially Sturmhond.  Also the ending picked up again dramatically and I will certainly read the final book in the Grisha trilogy to see how it all ends. I listened to Graceling by Kristin Cashore from Audible which was marked as a full…