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Kyera (8 KP) rated Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3) in Books
Jan 31, 2018
Clockwork Princess is the stunning conclusion to Cassandra Clare’s the Infernal Devices trilogy. The pacing of the third book is much brisker than its predecessor and immediately drags you into the plot. There are also significantly more scenes with action in them, which help to break up the scenes that steadily move the story along. As with the previous books, the story is very character-driven and continues to bring further depth to each character’s personality.
Will continues to be my favourite focus of any scene with his witty comments and sense of humour. It was nice to see him play off his sister at times, because normally only Tessa can manage Will. Although they have been apart for many years they still have a wonderfully authentic relationship, like how easily she is able to get under his skin. Will and Jem’s parabatai relationship, as it was in the previous books, is so real that you can easily imagine the love they have for one another, the pain each feels when the other is hurt, and how they would do anything for each other.
It was nice to see the continued development of characters that we’ve grown to love, as well as the new faces that have joined the familiar at the Institute. The number of important characters does not ever feel overwhelming or confusing, as each has been given the time to become established and grow in the world that Cassandra Clare has created. I love each and every one of the characters because they are not only true but integral to the story as a whole.
Despite having read this entire series before and knowing what will happen – it is still so brilliantly written that it elicits myriad emotions throughout. Each character feels real and their lives affect your own. A tear slips down my face as one character experiences unbearable pain, while another comes at the thought of losing a character I’ve grown to love so much. A grin overtakes my face in light of the overwhelmingly happy news. The books that I have grown to love are the ones that speak to you, change you, and will forever stay with you.
Clockwork Princess is quite possibly the best series finale that I have read and certainly the best final book in a trilogy. Despite the book causing me to cry, multiple times, I never felt dissatisfied with the conclusion. The story comes to a climactic end, then Cassandra Clare takes the final chapter to pull everything together and the prologue to make me cry again. I loved re-reading this series so much and hope that you are inspired to read it as well.
Will continues to be my favourite focus of any scene with his witty comments and sense of humour. It was nice to see him play off his sister at times, because normally only Tessa can manage Will. Although they have been apart for many years they still have a wonderfully authentic relationship, like how easily she is able to get under his skin. Will and Jem’s parabatai relationship, as it was in the previous books, is so real that you can easily imagine the love they have for one another, the pain each feels when the other is hurt, and how they would do anything for each other.
It was nice to see the continued development of characters that we’ve grown to love, as well as the new faces that have joined the familiar at the Institute. The number of important characters does not ever feel overwhelming or confusing, as each has been given the time to become established and grow in the world that Cassandra Clare has created. I love each and every one of the characters because they are not only true but integral to the story as a whole.
Despite having read this entire series before and knowing what will happen – it is still so brilliantly written that it elicits myriad emotions throughout. Each character feels real and their lives affect your own. A tear slips down my face as one character experiences unbearable pain, while another comes at the thought of losing a character I’ve grown to love so much. A grin overtakes my face in light of the overwhelmingly happy news. The books that I have grown to love are the ones that speak to you, change you, and will forever stay with you.
Clockwork Princess is quite possibly the best series finale that I have read and certainly the best final book in a trilogy. Despite the book causing me to cry, multiple times, I never felt dissatisfied with the conclusion. The story comes to a climactic end, then Cassandra Clare takes the final chapter to pull everything together and the prologue to make me cry again. I loved re-reading this series so much and hope that you are inspired to read it as well.
Debbiereadsbook (1818 KP) rated The Victorian (Lavender Shores #9) in Books
Feb 4, 2019
totally surprised by this one! Loved it!
This is book 9 in the Lavender Shores series and I *think* Seth pops up in every one! You don't need to have read the other books, before this one, but I think you should. They are all 4 and 5 star reads from me, bar one.
We met Seth right at the beginning of book one, The Palisade. I thought it was chapter one, but it is in chapter two he makes his first appearance. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad he got his own story, he deserved it!
Seth runs the B and B and Charley has a restaurant in town. They have history, a deep sated hatred of each other that Seth knows not from whence it came. Charley does though. When they are thrown together for a food and drink festival, sparks fly. But sparks is far too tame a word for what Seth and Charley begin to feel for each other. Each man has his demons, and those demons need banishing before they can admit who they really want.
There is an . . . incident . . . at the beginning, though, before all of this and I'm not saying what. It's kinda thrown at them by someone else and I think it was a bit unfair. It does, however, give Seth and Charley a taste of what could be between them, should they want. And they DO want, that much is obvious, even with the tempers between them!
So much passion between these two, it jumps off the page right from that incident (but again, far too tame a word for what happens!) Not just the anger between, or rather from Charley, but the connection that keeps pulling them together. And when Seth sees Charley, I mean really SEES why Charley is so angry all the time? Oh! Seth is just . . ..oh!
I cried a lot for these two. I wasn't expecting any of this, because there was no indication that this was coming! Or at least, I never picked up on it! There was not a single point along the way, in any of the other 8 books, that I can pick up and say ""oh yeah, that story is gonna be good!" And I was going to comment that this was a negative, but actually, I'm GLAD I did not see this one coming, I really am. I'm GLAD I did not see Seth's story unfolding because it might have taken away the surprise out of this story and it's the SURPRISE part that MAKES this book!
So many surprises, and I'm not pointing them out cos of spoilers, but I did NOT see any of them coming at me, and I am so freaking glad I didn't!
There is another story planned, I believe, about the instigator of that *Incident * I don't want to be too hard on him, because he really did think he was helping, but I truly hope he is sorry for the way he went about it, rather than what he did.
This book carries some darker moments, both for Seth and Charley and some readers may find it difficult. I did, because they both have difficult pasts.
But so bloody good! I read it in one sitting, after 6 days straight at work, two back to back 14 hour shifts, starting it at 10pm and did not stop til I ran out of book! And it ain't a short one either, some 330 pages!
So, 5 bloody amazing stars!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
We met Seth right at the beginning of book one, The Palisade. I thought it was chapter one, but it is in chapter two he makes his first appearance. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad he got his own story, he deserved it!
Seth runs the B and B and Charley has a restaurant in town. They have history, a deep sated hatred of each other that Seth knows not from whence it came. Charley does though. When they are thrown together for a food and drink festival, sparks fly. But sparks is far too tame a word for what Seth and Charley begin to feel for each other. Each man has his demons, and those demons need banishing before they can admit who they really want.
There is an . . . incident . . . at the beginning, though, before all of this and I'm not saying what. It's kinda thrown at them by someone else and I think it was a bit unfair. It does, however, give Seth and Charley a taste of what could be between them, should they want. And they DO want, that much is obvious, even with the tempers between them!
So much passion between these two, it jumps off the page right from that incident (but again, far too tame a word for what happens!) Not just the anger between, or rather from Charley, but the connection that keeps pulling them together. And when Seth sees Charley, I mean really SEES why Charley is so angry all the time? Oh! Seth is just . . ..oh!
I cried a lot for these two. I wasn't expecting any of this, because there was no indication that this was coming! Or at least, I never picked up on it! There was not a single point along the way, in any of the other 8 books, that I can pick up and say ""oh yeah, that story is gonna be good!" And I was going to comment that this was a negative, but actually, I'm GLAD I did not see this one coming, I really am. I'm GLAD I did not see Seth's story unfolding because it might have taken away the surprise out of this story and it's the SURPRISE part that MAKES this book!
So many surprises, and I'm not pointing them out cos of spoilers, but I did NOT see any of them coming at me, and I am so freaking glad I didn't!
There is another story planned, I believe, about the instigator of that *Incident * I don't want to be too hard on him, because he really did think he was helping, but I truly hope he is sorry for the way he went about it, rather than what he did.
This book carries some darker moments, both for Seth and Charley and some readers may find it difficult. I did, because they both have difficult pasts.
But so bloody good! I read it in one sitting, after 6 days straight at work, two back to back 14 hour shifts, starting it at 10pm and did not stop til I ran out of book! And it ain't a short one either, some 330 pages!
So, 5 bloody amazing stars!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2648 KP) rated Staging is Murder in Books
May 1, 2019
Starting a New Business is Murder
Laura Bishop is just getting her home staging business off the ground, and she is thrilled to land Victoria Denton as her first client. Victoria can make her reputation in their small Pennsylvania town. Unfortunately, Victoria also has a reputation for being hard to work with, and Laura is finding that all too true. Working late one night, Laura is shocked to find Victoria’s dead body. When the police arrest Laura’s assistant, she decides she needs to look into the crime to find out what really happened. But can she do it?
Since this is the first in a new series, we get to meet quite a few new characters here. I enjoyed Laura and her friends, although they do have a little room to grow as the series progresses. The plot starts off strong, but bogs down a bit as Laura struggles to figure out how to start her investigation. Not that I can say much since I identify with her struggle. Once she gets moving, thanks in part to some blunt questions from her friends (again, too much like me), the story picks up and I was fully on board. The climax was creative and answered all our questions. Laura is a mystery fan herself, and I enjoyed her comparing herself to the main characters in the books she’s read. Each chapter starts with tips on staging your home, and they made me very thankful that I am not planning on selling my condo any time soon due to all the work involved. I’ll just enjoy reading about Laura’s efforts to stage houses and solve mysteries.
Since this is the first in a new series, we get to meet quite a few new characters here. I enjoyed Laura and her friends, although they do have a little room to grow as the series progresses. The plot starts off strong, but bogs down a bit as Laura struggles to figure out how to start her investigation. Not that I can say much since I identify with her struggle. Once she gets moving, thanks in part to some blunt questions from her friends (again, too much like me), the story picks up and I was fully on board. The climax was creative and answered all our questions. Laura is a mystery fan herself, and I enjoyed her comparing herself to the main characters in the books she’s read. Each chapter starts with tips on staging your home, and they made me very thankful that I am not planning on selling my condo any time soon due to all the work involved. I’ll just enjoy reading about Laura’s efforts to stage houses and solve mysteries.
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated The Grip of It in Books
Jul 9, 2018
I knew going into The Grip of It that it wasn't going to be "flashy" horror. It was marketed as a literary horror book and was compared to Turn of the Screw and House of Leaves. Now, I don't think it wasn't as good as those books, but I didn't think it was as bad as everyone says, either. The ending is fairly ambiguous, but that doesn't mean it's bad; in fact, I thought the horror grew out of the tension between the husband and wife, James and Julie. The premise is rooted in a possibly haunted house, but the couple moves to get a fresh start from James's gambling addiction. So already the couple is on unsteady ground. The tension builds as the weirdness starts to become more intense. There comes a twist towards the end of the book that might have been disappointing to some.
The Grip of It is excellently written. The changes of perspective between the husband and wife (which usually coincide with the end of a chapter, but stop following a pattern as the book goes on), give the reader a sense that James and Julie, while at odds with each other, are really more similar than different--but they don't know it. The terror here comes from the fact that no matter how well you think you know someone or how much you love them, their mind is ultimately a mystery. As the couple comes to realize this, they have no choice but to accept this or separate. And maybe it's better to follow your spouse into insanity than to live alone.
The Grip of It is excellently written. The changes of perspective between the husband and wife (which usually coincide with the end of a chapter, but stop following a pattern as the book goes on), give the reader a sense that James and Julie, while at odds with each other, are really more similar than different--but they don't know it. The terror here comes from the fact that no matter how well you think you know someone or how much you love them, their mind is ultimately a mystery. As the couple comes to realize this, they have no choice but to accept this or separate. And maybe it's better to follow your spouse into insanity than to live alone.
Merissa (14173 KP) rated See No Evil (Brotherhood, #1) in Books
Jan 17, 2019
See No Evil (Brotherhood #1) by Jordan Ford
I will admit, when I started reading See No Evil I rolled my eyes a couple of times. A young girl, innocent of all knowledge of what her family is actually like. Oh please! However, within the first chapter, that swiftly became unimportant as I was entwined in Chris' life, and her struggles to fit in at a boy's school. Enter Trey, Riley, and Kade - the Wolf Pack, or Brotherhood, that proves that family is what you make it, not what you are born with. Chris' struggles are real, and it broke my heart. Showing an inner core of strength, yet bowing under the pressure of what she is doing, Chris manages to find a way to cope at the school. Things take a turn for the better though, when Trey takes her under his wing and she becomes enfolded into their lives.
This is incredibly well written, with plenty of layers to every character and situation. Heart stopping romance, with 'normal' boy reactions, as well as situations pertinent to this story alone. I don't think there were any editing or grammatical errors, none disrupted me anyway. Although I will say that I was that engrossed in the story, I may not have realised anyway!
The start of another exceptional series from Jordan Ford, and highly recommended by me. Absolutely loved this story, and can't wait for Kade's.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is incredibly well written, with plenty of layers to every character and situation. Heart stopping romance, with 'normal' boy reactions, as well as situations pertinent to this story alone. I don't think there were any editing or grammatical errors, none disrupted me anyway. Although I will say that I was that engrossed in the story, I may not have realised anyway!
The start of another exceptional series from Jordan Ford, and highly recommended by me. Absolutely loved this story, and can't wait for Kade's.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
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