Nicole Reads A Lot

so many books, so little time

Mar 25

Mountain Echoes by C. E. Murphy

by Nicole
Title:Mountain Echoes
Author:C. E. Murphy
PublisherHarlequin
Publication Date:April 2, 2013
Publisher's DescriptionYOU CAN NEVER GO HOME AGAIN

Joanne Walker has survived an encounter with the Master at great personal cost, but now her father is missing—stolen from the timeline. She must finally return to North Carolina to find him—and to meet Aidan, the son she left behind long ago.

That would be enough for any shaman to face, but Joanne’s beloved Appalachians are being torn apart by an evil reaching forward from the distant past. Anything that gets in its way becomes tainted—or worse.

And Aidan has gotten in the way.

Only by calling on every aspect of her shamanic powers can Joanne pull the past apart and weave a better future. It will take everything she has—and more.

Unless she can turn back time...but time is never on Joanne’s side.
My rating:****

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I love Joanne Walker. She’s a great character, and I’ve enjoyed watching her grow more comfortable with her abilities over the course of the Walker Papers series. I also really love that Mountain Echoes is the penultimate novel in this series. I’m not at all sick of Joanne, but each new entry in a series bring with it the possibility of stagnancy; Joanne and Morrison (dear baby Jesus, please bring me a Morrison for Festivus) remain one of my favorite fictional pairings, and while each visit with them is undoubtedly a treat, I almost want to give them a little privacy.

I never said I wasn’t weird.
It was great to see Joanne interact with people from her past. Watching a relatively more mellow Jo surprise people who remembered how she used to be was pretty entertaining. As always, Jo’s delight in her abilities was pretty delightful to witness. I really felt her turmoil when it came to her feelings about her father and her upbringing, and watching her integrate new information into old memories was a pretty rewarding experience.
I think that maybe I can’t be objective about this series, because I love it that much, but I just don’t see how anybody who is interested in the initial premise and reads the novels is going to be disappointed.

2013 2013 NetGalley Challenge 4 Star Books Book Reviews Urban Fantasy

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Feb 26

The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

by Nicole

Title:The Wise Man's Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 2
Author:Patrick Rothfuss
PublisherBrilliance Audio
Publication Date:March 2011
Publisher's Description"My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I have burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during the day. I have talked to God's, loved women and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me."
So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature - the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
My rating:****

Wise Man's Fear
The second day of Kvothe’s story is more interesting than the first! For one thing, we now have some understanding of who he is, so his recitation of his life means more. For another thing, more happens. The events that comprise the myth of Kvothe began in the first novel, and here we see more of what made Kvothe a legend in his own time. We also get the first inkling of how it was for Kvothe to be confronted with his reputation whilst going about his daily life.

We also get more of a juxtaposition between the younger, powerful Kvothe and present-day Kvothe, who seems greatly altered and reduced. The mystery of how he went from being the person in the stories to being the person telling the stories is a tantalizing one. His relationship with Bast is also rounded out here. Bast is an interesting character in his own right, and I am looking forward to hearing how he became Kvothe’s student.

One thing that bothered me is that Mr. Podehl’s narration wasn’t consistent. He pronounced names such as Fela and Devi differently in this book than he did in the first, but then alternated between the two pronunciations of Fela throughout The Wise Man’s Fear. This was initially confusing, but then just annoying.

Although the audio version of this book was 42 hours long, I listened to it in the span of several days, because it was just that interesting. I completely understand how Mr. Rothfuss isn’t churning these books out every year, due to their length and awesomeness, but I am eagerly anticipating the third book in this series.

2013 4 Star Books Book Reviews Fantasy

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Feb 25

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

by Nicole
Title:The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1
Author:Patrick Rothfuss
PublisherBrilliance Audio
Publication Date:May 2009
Publisher's Description"My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I have burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during the day. I have talked to God's, loved women and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me."
So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature - the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
My rating:****

Audible edition

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I was skeptical when a friend recommended this book to me. In general, I don’t end up being particularly drawn to fantasy books written by men. I have zero interest in wizardry and protracted fight scenes, and I usually hate the way that women in these books speak and act. That being said, I’d ignored enough of this friend’s book suggestions that I was starting to feel impolite. I picked up the print edition at the library, but 700+ pages of something I already wasn’t into didn’t help me become more motivated.

On a whim, I checked to see if there was an Audible edition of this book, and purchased it when I saw that there was. I am now patting myself on the back for this. With the obstacles that I mentioned earlier, I might not have read this book otherwise, and I would have missed out on a real treat.

Kvothe is such a great protagonist! Mr. Rothfuss does an excellent job at capturing a smart, funny character who is nevertheless very young. Kvothe is the very definition of somebody who is at times too smart for his own good. I laughed at his wit, then winced when it got the better of him. A lot of what happened to Kvothe was due to other people’s misdeeds or simple bad luck, but some of it was simply Kvothe having to learn time and again that pride sometimes hurts more than it helps. This book is a marvel; there are so many beautiful passages, and Mr. Podehl did a great job with the various accents and inflections in this book.

This book is so many things. As soon as I finished it, I started the second book, which was, if anything, even better. I highly recommend this series, even to those who wouldn’t normally read this type of book.

2013 4 Star Books Fantasy

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Feb 25

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

by Nicole
Title:Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality
Author:Elizabeth Eulberg
PublisherScholastic Inc.
Publication Date:March 1, 2013
Publisher's DescriptionA hilarious new novel from Elizabeth Eulberg about taking the wall out of the wallflower so she can bloom.

Don't mess with a girl with a Great Personality.

Everybody loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny...but she's never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty (with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).

Lexi's sick of it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan. She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she's sick of having all her family's money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection.

The time has come for Lexi to step out from the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game - and she's in it to win it.
My rating:****

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I was intrigued by the publisher’s description of this title, and excited when I was granted access to read it. That excitement did not wane while I was reading this book. Despite being a quick read, Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality is chock full of fairly intense issues. Lexi was a great protagonist: realistic, believable, and sympathetic even when displaying teenage cluelessness. With the exception of Brooke, who was a completely awful human being and lacked anything resembling a redeeming quality, every character in this book displayed the type of depth that makes for compelling reading.

Benny and Cam were  great friends; they were supportive, but not mindlessly so, and it made me happy that Lexi had them in her life. Lexi’s interactions with her parents were painfully realistic, and the rollercoaster nature of her relationship with Mac a great depiction of how siblings get along (or not).

Over the course of this novel Lexi went through a lot. She took some sometimes dodgy advice, followed her heart, left her comfort zone, and learned a lot of painful and valuable lessons. I wanted to stand up and cheer when I got to the end of the book. Nobody saved Lexi, or fixed her, or rearranged her world. No boy kissed her worries away.  Lexi was her own hero, and demonstrated why so many people in this book relied upon the good head on her shoulders (fairly or not)! In addition to being entertaining, I think that this book has a lot of good, non-preachy things to say about figuring out how to balance capability and self-reliance with enriching friendships. I’m recommending this title for inclusion in our young adult collection.

2013 2013 NetGalley Challenge 4 Star Books Book Reviews Netgalley Young Adult

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Feb 15

Turning Point by Tiffany Snow

by Nicole
Title:Turning Point
Author:Tiffany Snow
PublisherAmazon Publishing
Publication Date:February 19, 2013
Publisher's DescriptionAfter her promotion from law firm Runner to Investigator, Kathleen Turner is learning the ropes of her new job from none other than assassin-for-hire Kade Dennon, a situation her boyfriend Blane Kirk is none too happy about. But the lessons with Kathleen take a back seat when Kade becomes a target. Previously untouchable, his enemies now know of the chink in his armor – his brother’s girlfriend.
And Kade’s not the only thing coming between Kathleen and Blane. From Blane's inexplicable defense of a man guilty of a horrible crime, to a mysterious stranger from Kathleen's past, to Kathleen' risky investigation into human traffickers, the obstacles mount against a relationship that's just begun to find trust again.

While Blane considers a job offer that would take him back to the front lines in the war on terror, Kathleen is determined to pursue her new career, with or without his approval. Unfortunately, her current case is far more dangerous than anyone knows. Someone close to Blane will go to extreme lengths to split them up, lengths that may prove worse than death for Kathleen.

Kathleen, Blane and Kade must atone for the sins of the past and the present. The fallout will force Kathleen to a turning point...in her career, and her life.
My rating:***.5

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I really enjoy this series.  I didn’t think much of Kathleen’s survival skills her first couple of times out, but I have to say that she acquitted herself better the third time around. I think that Kathleen is growing into a believable, relatable character, and Kade and Blane (oh my god, those names) are becoming less like stock characters and more like individuals.

It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly why I like this book better, but I think it’s because Kathleen spent more time with Kade. I appreciate the way he treats her. He looks out for her, but not in a semi-creepy paternalistic way like Blane. Kade wants Kathleen to have the tools that she needs to take care of herself, and thinks well of her brain. Maybe she is smarter than I’ve given her credit for, and being around Blane just doesn’t give her the opportunity to express that intelligence.

I think that the class issues in the Kade-Kathleen-Blane triangle make it fresher than this type of story might otherwise be. Blane’s privilege is such that he honestly doesn’t get why Kathleen worries about their relationship. Of course, he doesn’t know what his evil Democrat uncle is up to (mwa ha ha), and Kathleen does, so she does have an advantage there. On Ms. Snow’s web site, she has pictured Kade as looking like my boyfriend Ian Somerhalder and Blane as looking like Val Kilmer. VAL KILMER??? Clearly, Kathleen will end up with Kade because really. If Ms. Snow were serious about Blane, he’d obviously look like my other boyfriend Matt Davis (just to keep it in the Vampire Diaries family).

I think that anybody who has stuck with this series through the first two books will be pleased with this entry. I found the second half of this book especially compelling, and I can’t wait to see what happens in book 4!

2013 2013 NetGalley Challenge 3.5 Star Books Book Reviews

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