5th sentence, 74th page: I’ll be out of your way presently.
Maeve welcomes the latest owner of her beloved home. But she has a secret and a curse to break. Could he be the one to finally save her from her fate?
I thought that this was quite a clever and enjoyable tale. It features the staple of many Irish folklores (or at least, all of the ones that I have had access to) in that it features a curse and the fae. There is also a sense of inheritance and fate that waft throughout the story and even though it means you know how the story will end, it still makes for an incredibly fun and interesting journey.
I loved both the simplicity and quaintness of this tale. It incorporated some fantastic storytelling with a romantic plot and a dreaded curse. All in all, the perfect mix of wonderful writing, quaint storytelling and Irish romance.
Title: The Kite Runner Author: Khaled Hosseini Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, History Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2003 5th sentence, 74th page: And that was close as Hassan and I ever came to discussing what had happened in the alley.
Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that hsi new world cannot grant him: redemption.
This story is one of those that hits you right in the gut. And will probably stay with you forever. I know this because I can remember reading it about ten years ago. And although I could remember the amazing intensity of the story, and the vague storyline, I couldn’t remember enough to find this book again. Fast forward the ten years, I bought a Khaled Hosseini boxset on a whim. Picked up one of the books, and lo and behold, it’s the book I’ve spent ages searching for!
I sat up all night to finish The Kite Runner. It’s a little slow to start with. But once you hit the eighth chapter, it becomes incredibly difficult to put down. And then, once you’ve finished it, there are so many feelings that linger that it is almost impossible to sleep. Or really, think about anything else for a while. This is a true tragedy, with a nice little silver lining that helps to keep you from the precipice as you read it.
There are few people in this world who are inherently good. Fewer who are put into a bad situation and are able to maintain this sense of dignity and internal strength. Yet, Hassan ticks all of these boxes. And the fact that this story features his downfall and much of his tragic life makes it incredibly painful to read of someone who just feels “good”. I also love that this goodness is reported by his childhood friend and another young man who doesn’t quit fit this bill. He is more relatable to a degree. Amir is selfish, insecure and struggling to find out who he is in the shadow of another. The combination of the two boys is both amazing and horrifying. And it makes this story well worth reading and finding a new reality and intensity to dive into.
His name is Viper—a dark mysterious enigma who rules the seedy, dangerous vampiric underworld. For one night, he will escape his murky prison and tempt an innocent.
…can last a lifetime…
Beautiful Mariah haunts him. Lures him from his den with a glimpse of his past. One she doesn’t remember. This night, he’ll be her dream lover. He’ll seduce her, make her fall in love with him—then leave her. Again.
One night of pleasure is all they must know.
This was kind of a typical vampire romance. He was obsessive (I really don’t know why this is a recurrent theme in “romances”, but that’s another rant for another day). And she is completely oblivious until their very first meeting. Then she is drawn to him. And yada yada yada.
What surprised me about this was the previous relationship of the two leads. They have one night to rekindle an old flame and life and remember what once was. It was kind of bittersweet in this way. It lent a strong sense of borrowed time and love like it’s your last moment to a tale that would have otherwise just been too cliché.
Title: Mr. Bear Author: Joe R. Lansdale In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Comedy, Easy reading, Fantasy Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Pocket Books Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: “My wife will kill me.”
When Jim boards a plane, he hopes to get a few empty seats to give him some privacy. What he ends up getting is a new “friend” that is truly the stuff of nightmares.
This story is weird. It was weird from beginning to end and I still really don’t know where to put my feelings for it. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t bad. It was just really, really freaking weird.
Beyond being weird, this story also gave me the major heeby jeebies. It’s a bear that acts as the villain, but this is a story that does actually happen in real life. An unsuspecting fool falls into a trap and there follows calamity upon calamity until they realise that they are probably about to die. And then, because it is a story and needs a happy ending of sorts, they find their way out…
So yup. Mostly this story was incredibly weird. And heeby. And just in general kind of creepy…
Title: Tom Edison and His Amazing Telegraphic Harpoon Author: Jay Lake In: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (Sean Wallace) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Adventure, Steampunk, Wild west Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: Legendary as they were, there were no whispered tales of the might monsters’ defeat in battle.
Tom Edison and his friend Salmon face up against one of the Nephilm. With a telegraphic harpoon in The Age of Reason.
Well. This was not what I was expecting. I thought something that featured Tom Edison would be a lot more concise and filled with a little less fantasy. But it was like a mad, crazy wild western tale that featured someone who is completely obsessed with electricity.
It wasn’t until the very end that I figured out why Edison and Salmon’s relationship was kind of secretive. It almost had homosexual undertones to it. Then, in the final pages, he was called ‘negro’. And, seeing as this is based in the wild west, I completely understood it. And it made this story all the better for me. I loved that this was fast-paced and filled with action. That it also touches on racism just made it all the better in my eyes.
Title: The Fish Ladder Author: Katharine Norbury Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Biographies, The Coast, Easy reading, Memoirs Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus Year: 2015 5th sentence, 74th page: But if we were in the wrong place, so too had Ieuan Lleyn been, when he came here in 1799.
Katharine Norbury was abandoned as a baby in a Liverpool convent. Raised by loving adoptive parents, she grew into a wanderer, drawn by the beauty of the British countryside.
One summer, following the miscarriage of a much-longer-for child, Katharine sets out – accompanied by her nine-year-old daughter, Evie – with the idea of following a river from the sea to its source. The luminously observed landscape provides both a constant and a context to their expeditions. But what begins as a diversion from grief soon evolves into a journey to the source of life itself, when a chance circumstance forces Katharine to the door of the woman who gave her up all those years ago.
Combining travelogue, memoir, exquisite nature writing, fragments of poetry and tales from Celtic mythology, The Fish Ladder has a rare emotional resonance. A portrait of motherhood, of a literary marriage and a hymn to the adoptive family, this captivating story of self-discovery is, most of all, an exploration of the extraordinary majesty of the natural world. Imbued with a keen and joyful intelligence, this original and life-affirming book is set to become a classic of its genre.
I needed to read a book with a river on the cover. When I googled such a requirement, this is one of the few books that came up. And man, am I glad that it did. There is just something about the winding, lazy way in which Norbury tells her story that was both completely relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable. Although I have nothing to compare her adventures to, I almost feel like there is a part of me that has now been discovered and it gives me the inspiration to go forth into my own life and keep finding my own way forward.
Unlike a lot of the memoirs that I have recently read, there isn’t really a central story that is outlined here. Not one specific journey or moment of epiphany that really strikes out at me. Instead, there is the central theme of family and motherhood. The idea that even though she is adopted, there are strong familial ties between Katharine and her adoptive family. But there is also a strong tie to the woman who gave her up for adoption and it is this that really drives the feeling of longing forward and into the reader a Katharine’s beautiful words unfold.
This wasn’t one of those earth shatteringly amazing stories. It probably hasn’t changed my life in anyway. But it was incredibly beautiful. And immensely easy to read. It was a great lazy Sunday read to sink my brain into while I was trying to unwind at the end of the long day. And it certainly reminded me of how lucky and grateful I am to have the mother and family that I have.
5th sentence, 74th page: Medb rode with a smaller escort, less to fight, although she gave a good account of herself when necessary, than to look over all the lands and the people.
Forced into a political marriage at a young age, Medb shows that she has an amazing inner strength. She is willing to fight against her new husband, and carve out a reality for herself amongst a world that doesn’t always support women.
I knew from the very beginning that this would be a great story about a strong woman. After all, it starts with Medb being asked to marry a man by her father. Set in medieval times. And when she is only fourteen. There is even the comment that no one would push her into anything. So, mostly I was wondering how a romance was going to happen when you start with a character that just isn’t interested in marriage and has that kind of independence straight away. Most of the romance stories in The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance have far more submissive women. And I loved this change.
It’s hard to read a lot of romantic novels (which is why they are often on my guilty pleasures shelf), since they tend to place women in the weaker, or more submissive position. Although that is what Medb’s first marriage is like, there is an emphasis placed on equality and partnership. At acceptance of one another and the roles we choose to play in life.
Listen to the secrets of the beautiful animal whisperer who’s drawn intimately closer to danger, and to the most suspect of all male animals – man…
This was such a great and fun novella. Okay. Maybe not really fun. And not really the kind of novella you want to read just before bed if you are a woman living alone. Since it features a rapist. It’s pretty intense actually, and although I really enjoyed this, I kind of wish that I hadn’t read it just before bed.
Although, once I focused on the beauty of the romance, and the fact that the lead female can actually talk to animals… which is the one superpower I’ve always wished I could have. The ability to communicate with my four-legged friends. Using this ability to not only solve a crime, but somehow entrance a man into her bed was fun. What I loved the most was when she asked Jay’s dog what his fantasies were so that she could re-enact them. On second thought, it’s probably best not to read this novella if you’re in a bit of a dry spell… it makes you feel quite lonely.
My biggest disappointment from this story is the fact that it’s not part of a greater series. It works brilliantly as a stand-alone but I want more of Macy and Jay!
Title: Knowledge of Evil Author: Raven Hart In: The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance (Trisha Telep) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Paranormal romance, Vampires Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: “What?” I was becoming intoxicated – the point at which I would be unable to stop drinking her blood even if I wanted to; the point at which if I were going to make her a vampire, I would have to feed her my own blood.
He’s a vampire who loves the pursuit of knowledge. She’s a vampire expert who is obsessed with having more time to find more information. Is this the perfect match, or something far more sinister?
I have a more-than-slight obsession with tales about intellectuals. I am an intellect. I’m obsessed with learning. And understanding. And just experiencing in general. So it was really fun to read a vampire romance that featured two such characters. Alright, the rest of the story was so incredibly cliché. And more than a little irritating in parts, but mostly, it was just fun to read about people who wanted to be immortal simply for the fact that it means a forever of learning.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but I found the ending a little too predictable and cliché. The couple ended up together, and he was way too smitten. It was a great story, but the ending did fall a little flat.
Title: Two Moons Author: Emily Rodda Series: Star of Deltora #2 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Easy reading, Medieval fantasy Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Omnibus books Year: 2015 5th sentence, 74th page: ‘Of course,’ said Mab courteously, as Xen’s companions bowed in their turn.
Aboard the Star of Deltora with her three rivals for the Trader Rosalyn Apprenticeship, Britta knows that she has to keep her wits about her. She desperately wants to win the contest, but of course Jewel, Sky and Vashti feel the same, and one of them, she knows, is a ruthless enemy who will stop at nothing to succeed. Britta is ready for trouble, but as the voyage fails to go as planned, and rumours of evil magic sweep her beloved ship, she starts to wonder if she has more to fear than simple human wickedness.
And nothing can prepare her for the terror that awaits her in the perilous, forbidden swamplands of Two Moons.
Two Moons really helps to expand on the tales of Shadows of the Master. Where the first book is setting Britta up for her epic adventure and trials, Two Moons actually takes you on them. And it becomes very clear very quickly that this voyage isn’t just going to be about the competition to become the next apprentice, but also a re-tracing of her father’s footsteps and the mystery of the staff.
This is such a fun and easy read, and even though I’m reading this series and discovering it as an adult… it’s still a lot of fun. A nice way to spend a quiet night. Especially one of those nights when I really want to read, but can’t quite seem to make my brain function fully. Which, let’s admit, happen often.
My favourite thing about this book is the surprise reveal at the end. But, since I don’t like giving spoilers, you’re going to have to read it to find out just what kind of surprise is in store for this shy little heroine.
Title: On Inishmore
Title: The Kite Runner
Title: Mr. Bear
Title: Tom Edison and His Amazing Telegraphic Harpoon
Title: Compeer
Title: Animal Magnetism
Title: Two Moons
