Tag Archives: Easy Reading

The Romantic Poets by William Blake, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, George Gordon Byron, William Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge

August 4, 2018Book ReviewClassics, Easy Reading, George Gordon Byron, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Poetry, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Word Cloud Classicsskyebjenner

Title: The Romantic Poets
Author: William Blake, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, George Gordon Byron, William Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Series: Word Cloud Classics
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Easy reading, Poetry
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Word Cloud Classics
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: With rocks, and stones, and trees.

omanticism gained traction in the late 1700s as writers moved away from the intellectualism of the Enlightenment and toward more emotional and natural themes. The major works of the movement’s five most famous poets — William Wordsworth, George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Blake, and John Keats — are represented in this handsome Word Cloud Classics volume, The Romantic Poets. One of the largest and most influential artistic movements in history, Romanticism valued intuition and pastoralism, and its themes are well represented in the verse of its stars.

There’s something wonderfully soothing about reading poetry. It is relaxing, and lyrical and although it often isn’t as amazingly descriptive, it is a great way to soar through the literary world.

I had forgotten the joys of romanticism. And the ways in which it has completely changed and informed much of the literature that I love and enjoy today.

There’s not much that I can really say about this collection. I will probably pick it up and read parts and writers from time to time to get my poetry fix. This is probably the only time I’ll actually read it cover to cover. There was just something so enjoyable about this first time though…

<- The Wizard of Oz

Jane Eyre ->

Image source: Rainbow Resources

A Mere Formality by Ilona Andrews

August 3, 2018Book ReviewEasy Reading, Ilona Andrews, Science Fictionskyebjenner

Title: A Mere Formality
Author: Ilona Andrews
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Science fiction
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ilona Andrews
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: He pushed past the Duke and drew her outside.

Warning: this story is one big dirty joke. There is no actual sex, but there is a lot discussion about it. It was written on a dare. Someone told us that we couldn’t write a short story around one particular phrase, and we did. So I recommend this for people 18+. Because you know, we wouldn’t want to corrupt your minors.

You know that a short story is going to be good when there is a smut warning at the very beginning. And when it’s going to be science fiction. And just generally when it is written by Ilona Andrews. Which this was amazing. And fun, and not at all what I would have expected from the title and cover of this short story.

A Mere Formality reminded me a little of the world building in Clean Sweep – the idea of universal and planetary politics playing against one another. And the idea that there are a multitude of groups who all have their own agendas, well, it’s familiar to us, but far more fun when the different parties have fur and weird, alien rituals.

Although there is a smut warning at the beginning of this, the smut is not what I was expecting. At all. And at first I was like, huh. But then I loved it. And laughed, and just had a great time enjoying this tale. Definitely worth going and reading it from Andrews’ website. Something I’m a little disappointed that it took me so long to get into such a tale.

<- Small Magics

Of Swine and Roses ->

Image source: Ilona Andrews

Gold, Babies and the Brothers Muldoon by Derek Landy

August 1, 2018Book ReviewArmageddon Outta Here, Crime, Dark Fantasy, Derek Landy, Easy Reading, Paranormal Fantasy, Skulduggery Pleasantskyebjenner

Title: Gold, Babies and the Brothers Muldoon
Author: Derek Landy
In: Armageddon Outta Here (Derek Landy)
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #2.5
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Crime, Dark fantasy, Easy reading, Paranormal fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: “Ok,” Valkyrie interrupted, “I get it.

Midnight. Valkyrie Cain approaches an old, ramshackle church to make a delicate deal with a trio of ugly, hairy goblins. To her absolute non-surprise, the goblins have no intention of honouring that deal- but not to worry. Skulduggery Pleasant is standing by to deliver a surprise of their own.

Things, however, don’t go exactly according to plan. Not least because the goblins have a sister. A very big, very strong sister. Who might just have a TINY crush on one of our heroes…

Trolls and goblins are always interesting, and disgusting, and a good misadventure for any books’ or series’ heroes. Which is where the Brothers Muldoon fit into this tale – they are disgusting and entertaining. They are a good counterbalance to the babies which Valkyrie and Skulduggery are trying to rescue. And the combination of evil cunning and sheer stupidity made me giggle all throughout this short story.

At the opening of this story I thought that this was just about Valkyrie and a solo mission. It was kind of an exciting idea, but what I love most is the witty repartee between the two leads, so it was also a little disappointing. But then Skulduggery bursts through the ceiling, gets trapped by a potential wife and general chaos ensues. Which leaves me not in the least bit disappointed, and very much entertained.

<- Playing with Fire Review

The Faceless One Review ->

Image source: Skulduggery Pleasant Wiki

Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

July 30, 2018Book ReviewCrime, Dark Fantasy, Derek Landy, Easy Reading, Paranormal Fantasy, Skulduggery Pleasantskyebjenner

Title: Playing with Fire
Author: Derek Landy
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #2
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Crime, Dark fantasy, Easy reading, Paranormal fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: “I’m afraid I can, and I have.”

“Valkyrie Cain looked down at her own dead body, cold and unmoving. She kept expecting to see it breathe. But it just lay in the boot, a thing, a corpse with her face…”

With Serpine dead, the world is safe once more. At least, that’s what Valkyrie and Skulduggery think, until the notorious Baron Vengeous makes a bloody escape from prison, and dead bodies and vampires start showing up all over Ireland.

With Baron Vengeous after the deadly armour of Lord Vile, and pretty much everyone out to kill Valkyrie, the daring detective duo face their biggest challenge yet. But what if the greatest threat to Valkyrie is just a little closer to home…?

Skulduggery Pleasant is the kind of series that I can pick up and put down whenever I feel like something light and kind of sarcastic. This week, that’s exactly what I felt like. So I picked up Playing with Fire. And I read it in just over a day. Actually, the bulk of the book get read in one night. While I was watching Pride and Prejudice. A little bit of an odd combination, but it worked really well…

There are two things that I love about Landy’s writing and Skulduggery Pleasant series. The first is the fact that the main character is a thirteen-year-old girl. I don’t find many action-type books that are aimed at a young audience, potentially male, that has a young girl as the lead. Especially when said series is written by a man. Valkyrie might be the sidekick to the magic-wielding skeleton detective, but the storyline tends to centre on her, rather than him. And I love it. It’s so important to have a strong, female lead and one that young girls can look up to. We’re not pretty little wallflowers after all.

The second thing I love is the sarcastic wit and the dialogue. I find it hard to find a book that will generally make me laugh. Actually, I find it hard to find anything comedic that I enjoy. It has to be witty and clever. And generally it has to be sarcastic and a little dark. All of which this style of writing manages to accomplish. The dry, droll, sense of humour is exactly what I love and, although the storyline is good, it’s really the sarcastic wit with which it is carried forward that makes me read the story so quickly and vehemently.

<- The Lost Art of World Domination Review

Gold, Babies and the Brothers Muldoon Review ->

Image source: Thirst for Fiction

Even a Rabbit Will Bite by Rachel Caine

July 25, 2018Book ReviewDark and Stormy Knights, Dragons, Easy Reading, Fantasy, Rachel Caineskyebjenner

Title: Even a Rabbit Will Bite
Author: Rachel Caine
In: Dark and Stormy Knights (P.N. Elrod)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dragons, Easy reading, Fantasy
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: I checked every day, but it was pro forma, the work of thirty seconds, and then I went on with my life, such as it was.

Two aging enemies are forced to face off one last time… but will they be able to triumph over the past?

I didn’t know what to expect from this story – especially when the heading is Even a Rabbit Will Bite. Actually, I was expecting a killer rabbit, like the one in Monty Python. But I didn’t get that… I got something SO much better. Which left me with the happy feelings at the end of the tale.

This is a story about a decrepit old dragon slayer, and the only dragon left in the world – also decrepit, old and cranky. They both understand that eventually there will be a fight to the death, but they also want to live out their lives in peace. This juxtaposition builds slowly until the final conclusion, which is actually kind of beautifully poetic and sweet… in a killing, battle to the death kind of way…

<- The Beacon Review

Dark Lady Review ->

Image source: Goodreads

Beastly: Lindy’s Diary by Alex Flinn

July 24, 2018Book ReviewAlex Flinn, Easy Reading, Fairy tales, Kendra Chroniclesskyebjenner

Title: Beastly: Lindy’s Diary
Author: Alex Flinn
Series: Kendra Chronicles #1.5
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales
Pace: Slow
Format: Novella
Publisher: Harper Teen
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: Now I did.

See the #1 New York Times bestselling story Beastly through Lindy’s eyes! This is her diary, kept while living in captivity with the beast. Lindy’s Diary captures all the romance and edgy mystery of the original!

Diary,

I am locked away . . . with no one to confide in but you . . . and him. His fur, those claws—they caught me off guard at first, but now I’m noticing something else about him—something deeper. It’s the look in his eye. It tells me he’s got a secret to keep. That’s okay—I’ve got one, too. I think I’m falling in love with him. . . .

Lindy

It’s always fun to reread a story from a different person’s point of view. It just gives a nice, different point of view and lens through which to watch the same actions that you have already watched, and often thought you understood. When it’s a novella that tells the other side of a romance, then it just makes me all the more happier. Lindy’s Diary does this.

I love Beauty and the Beast, whichever version it happens to be. I love the idea of two outcasts finding one another and finding solace in each others’ company. It’s not about Stockholme Syndrome (just had to throw that one out there). And I love the idea that true love is about two souls, not the way that each other looks. But, attraction is a physical thing too. I think that my partner is a gorgeous man. Now that I know him, I know that I would love him regardless. I don’t know if I would have fallen for him regardless of his looks. I don’t know how the process would have happened in the case of Beauty and the Beast. Lindy’s Diary helped to make me understand this. It was also a nice way to see why she held off with saying the magical words.

Sometimes diary formats kind of annoy me – they can be read quite clunkily and just don’t have the flow that I love in well-written prose. I wouldn’t have liked the tale of Beastly written as a diary. It would have made the story a little too time-conscious and the time passages would have felt almost lazy in missing out chunks of time to move the story forward. After all, the tale takes place over a two year time period. But as a brief glimpse into Lindy’s thoughts and feelings, it works really well. It places the actions of Adrian within the context of their year together and helps to show how Lindy falling in love was a slow and gradual progress.

<- Beastly Review

Bewitching Review ->

Image source: Harper Collins Publishers

Beastly by Alex Flinn

July 23, 2018Book ReviewAlex Flinn, Easy Reading, Fairy tales, Kendra Chroniclesskyebjenner

Title: Beastly
Author: Alex Flinn
Series: Kendra Chronicles #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Harper Teen
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: But I’d known it wouldn’t last.

I AM A BEAST.

A beast. Not quite wolf or gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature with fangs, claws, and hair springing from every pore. I am a walking monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. And I’ll stay this way forever – unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, the perfect girl, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly… beastly.

I have loved the movie Beastly for a long time. After all, Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairy tales, (or at the very least, my favourite Disney movies), and I loved this modern-day adaptation of it. Only recently did I read the opening credits and realise that the movie is actually based on a book. So I bought the book. And I really wasn’t disappointed.

This is a simple, easy book. Plain and simple. There isn’t a lot of complexity in it, and it isn’t one that you have to think a lot about hidden meanings. Which is why I loved it. I enjoy high fantasy and complex tales as much as the next girl, but I also love something that is happy, simple and you are guaranteed of a sweet, happy ending. This falls firmly within that category. And which is why I loved it.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that not only was it a modern-day story, but it highlighted this with the use of an internet forum. Before each “part” there was a live chat between different fairy tale characters, the frog, one of the grizzly bears, and the little mermaid all managed to make an appearance. It was quite cleverly and subtly done. And it is this fact that I really enjoyed. After all, retelling a fairy tale has been done many times before. But retelling it with hints of other fairytales, and using the internet and modern technologies as a mechanism through which to do it – well, that was just a seriously fun idea.

<- Beheld Review

Beastly: Lindy’s Diary Review ->

Image source: Book Depository

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

July 22, 2018Book ReviewEasy Reading, Fantasy, Gregory Maguire, The Wicked Years, Witchesskyebjenner

Title: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Author: Gregory Maguire
Series: The Wicked Years #1
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fantasy, Witches
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Harper
Year: 1995
5th sentence, 74th page: We should leave the luxury of Munchkinland and try ourselves in the fire of a truly needy situation.

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her archnemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West – a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

I didn’t know that the musical Wicked was based on a book. I didn’t know that the book would be so completely green. And when I found out these two facts, I bought it straight away. After all, I loved the play. And I love the colour green. And really, anything that is a little bit different and comments on the world from a point of view that isn’t what we generally think about is something that I’m going to want. I like tales that tell the story in shades of grey.

I love the message in this story. I love the way in which it comments on our own world. And I love the idea of telling a classic from another point of view, the villains. What I didn’t love was the pace of the story. The prologue completely drew me in. It was funny, pithy and threw you into the storyline. And then we went back in time. And we dealt with Elphaba’s family. And her upbringing. And then her time studying… and it just slowed right down. Not enough that I didn’t read the book, but enough that I struggled to read the book.

The fact that I struggled to read this, and it took me so long has left me with incredibly mixed feelings. On the one hand, I really liked the storyline and the message. On the other, I found it’s delivery a little bit slower and less captivating than I would like. But, I also understand why this is. Childhood histories and the growth of a character isn’t often something that can happen quickly, but it is certainly necessary to the characterisation… this is certainly a book that has left me on the fence, although it is one that will linger in my mind’s eye…

<- Tales Told in Oz Review

Son of a Witch Review ->

Image source: Amazon

After Midnight by Fiona Brand

July 9, 2018Book ReviewEasy Reading, Fiona Brand, Lover Beware, Romanceskyebjenner

Title: After Midnight
Author: Fiona Brand
In: Lover Beware (Christine Feehan)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: Berkley Books
Year: 2003
5th sentence, 74th page: The rusted hinges of his white picket gate creaked as Tucker pushed it wide.

Between two strangers… Sometimes one glance is all it takes. And sometimes all it takes is one man to tear apart what fate – and desire – have brought together…

Sometimes it’s nice to curl up with a good, cliché romance. If it reads a little like a Mills and Boon novel, then it’s also nice. If you don’t have a tiny beagle trying to lick your face in all the good bits like I did… talk about awkward.

They say that opposites attract. And also that sometimes lone glance is all that it takes. For Jane and Michael, both of these clichés ring true. For seven years, they have fought their attraction, and when they might finally be able to act on their feelings… well, crime and mayhem rears it’s ugly head and threatens to destroy everything.

So much of this story was the lust and the windup to the big moment. The crime that weaves its way throughout this sleepy New Zealand town just helps to up the stakes. The storm scene that brings the climax of the tale (in more ways than one) crashes through and highlights not only the stakes, but the passion and excitement that this story brings. My only complaint about this is that it was a little too short, and I would dearly love to visit Jane and Michael again.

<- Hot August Moon Review

Only Human Review ->

Image source: Fantastic Fiction

Beknighted by Deidre Knight

July 8, 2018Book ReviewDark and Stormy Knights, Deidre Knight, Easy Reading, Fantasyskyebjenner

Title: Beknighted
Author: Deidre Knight
In: Dark and Stormy Knights (P.N. Elrod)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: Surely Sebastian wanted her to mop up the proverbial mess.

A young artist has dreamt about freeing her knight in shining armour, and she is about to succeed. But will shadowy, sinister forces stand in her way?

I really liked this short story. The only thing I didn’t like was the way that it ended – the lovers forgot about each other and didn’t get their steamy reunion. It’s cliché, but I do love a romantic, run into each other’s’ arms ending. And this was so close, but yet so far…

It was a very cool, and trippy idea that there was a knight trapped. And to free him an artist had to create a puzzle box. I’ve never actually seen a puzzle box, so this did throw me a little. But it didn’t take away from the amazing storyline of this story – one that I thoroughly enjoyed and am a little disappointed was so short. Actually, I’m going to specifically search for more works by Deidre Knight now, so that I can enjoy such a fun and interesting take on the world again.

<- Dark Lady Review

Shifting Star Review ->

Earth and Skye

The ramblings of a bibliophile.

Tag Archives: Easy Reading

The Romantic Poets by William Blake, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, George Gordon Byron, William Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge

A Mere Formality by Ilona Andrews

Gold, Babies and the Brothers Muldoon by Derek Landy

Image source: Skulduggery Pleasant Wiki

Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

Image source: Thirst for Fiction

Even a Rabbit Will Bite by Rachel Caine

Image source: Goodreads

Beastly: Lindy’s Diary by Alex Flinn

Image source: Harper Collins Publishers

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Image source: Book Depository

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Image source: Amazon

After Midnight by Fiona Brand

Image source: Fantastic Fiction

Beknighted by Deidre Knight

Image source: Goodreads