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David McK (3854 KP) rated Arthur (The Arthurian Tales #3) in Books
Jun 30, 2024 (Updated Jun 30, 2024)
This is the final entry in Giles Kristian's 'Arthurian Tales' trilogy, set after both 'Lancelot' and 'Camelot', and now told in the third person instead of the first person view of both those former works.
It's also the first one - I believe - to so heavily rely on flashbacks, paralleling the 'now' of the story with the background to one of the main characters Beran (whose identity I, personally, found quite easy to grok early on).
As a whole, I have to say, this trilogy is one of the best retellings of the Arthurian myths I have come across although retelling, however, may be too strong a word; perhaps a better on would be re-imagining as there's no mystical Green Knight (reimagined in 'Camelot'), search for the Holy Grails (again, see 'Camelot'), or mysterious women lying in ponds and distributing swords ("that's no basis for sound government..."), but which does cover the whole Arthur/Lancelot/Guinevere love triangle (see, in particular, 'Lancelot') and the fall out thereof.
In short, all three novels are well worth a read - personally, I found I enjoyed these more than the 'Blood Eye' series by the same author.
It's also the first one - I believe - to so heavily rely on flashbacks, paralleling the 'now' of the story with the background to one of the main characters Beran (whose identity I, personally, found quite easy to grok early on).
As a whole, I have to say, this trilogy is one of the best retellings of the Arthurian myths I have come across although retelling, however, may be too strong a word; perhaps a better on would be re-imagining as there's no mystical Green Knight (reimagined in 'Camelot'), search for the Holy Grails (again, see 'Camelot'), or mysterious women lying in ponds and distributing swords ("that's no basis for sound government..."), but which does cover the whole Arthur/Lancelot/Guinevere love triangle (see, in particular, 'Lancelot') and the fall out thereof.
In short, all three novels are well worth a read - personally, I found I enjoyed these more than the 'Blood Eye' series by the same author.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2615 KP) rated Framed for Murder in Books
Feb 5, 2025
Can Mel Clear a Frenemy?
Former police officer Mel O’Rourke is trying to settle into her new life running a B & B in the mountain town of Pine Cove. But then her past walks in. Poppy Phillips is a thief that Mel spent time trying to arrest when she was an officer. Poppy is looking for help since she stumbled over a body, and she is afraid the police will think she did it. The fact that Poppy was there committing a burglary does complicate things. Can Mel clear her? Does she want to?
I picked up this book thinking it was the first in a series. There is a novella that introduces some of the characters, and this book has major spoilers for that story. I also found the language in this book to be much worse than I wanted to read. The mystery was good, although I found some things bumped me, like police jurisdiction. It just didn’t seem logical, although maybe there is something I was missing. On the other hand, I really did like the characters and the relationships they were forming. Overall, this was a mixed bag for me.
I picked up this book thinking it was the first in a series. There is a novella that introduces some of the characters, and this book has major spoilers for that story. I also found the language in this book to be much worse than I wanted to read. The mystery was good, although I found some things bumped me, like police jurisdiction. It just didn’t seem logical, although maybe there is something I was missing. On the other hand, I really did like the characters and the relationships they were forming. Overall, this was a mixed bag for me.
Merissa (14108 KP) rated The Daughter of The Ice (Age of Rekindling #1) in Books
Mar 22, 2023
THE DAUGHTER OF THE ICE is the first book in the Legends of Elessia: Age of Rekindling series and I found it helpful, although not necessary, to have read other books in the linked series by this author.
Eregar is one of the main characters of this story, along with others including Erika, Lucius' sister. They are given the task of finding out why people are going missing. Unbeknownst to them, Elaine has risen and is busy making her army with all those missing people.
Now, I'm going to be honest here, I found it a bit puzzling that Elaine, the Daughter, was attacking villages and The Tower when they were in the North and followed her ways. That was just a small matter though and I could look over it as the action leapt off the page.
I enjoyed this story and look forward to seeing where it takes me next. Recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Eregar is one of the main characters of this story, along with others including Erika, Lucius' sister. They are given the task of finding out why people are going missing. Unbeknownst to them, Elaine has risen and is busy making her army with all those missing people.
Now, I'm going to be honest here, I found it a bit puzzling that Elaine, the Daughter, was attacking villages and The Tower when they were in the North and followed her ways. That was just a small matter though and I could look over it as the action leapt off the page.
I enjoyed this story and look forward to seeing where it takes me next. Recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Operation Pinpoint (Space Force Rejects, #1)
8.0
Rate It
Book
This alien tracker has finally found his mate, but how can he claim her when she loves another? ...
Science Fiction Romance Aliens
Debbiereadsbook (1788 KP) rated Callisto 2.0 in Books
Dec 2, 2023
not really my thing.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This will be a short review, and for that I am sorry, My brain is shutting down, and I'm struggling to put much sense into my reviews!
I liked this enough to finish it, so that's a good thing right now!
I liked Callisto, I found her interesting and engaging. Her first person voice is clear and defined. I liked her!
There is much science in this book. MUCH. I found it a little hard work at times, and easy going at others. But I did find myself skimming over some parts too.
There is romance here, but I'm not tagging as such. Its very much in the background. I would have liked more, to be honest, it might have broken up the science.
There is some repetition of the same point: that men are ruining the world and only women can fix it. It got a bit much.
So, I did finish it, and I can only really stretch to:
3 stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This will be a short review, and for that I am sorry, My brain is shutting down, and I'm struggling to put much sense into my reviews!
I liked this enough to finish it, so that's a good thing right now!
I liked Callisto, I found her interesting and engaging. Her first person voice is clear and defined. I liked her!
There is much science in this book. MUCH. I found it a little hard work at times, and easy going at others. But I did find myself skimming over some parts too.
There is romance here, but I'm not tagging as such. Its very much in the background. I would have liked more, to be honest, it might have broken up the science.
There is some repetition of the same point: that men are ruining the world and only women can fix it. It got a bit much.
So, I did finish it, and I can only really stretch to:
3 stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2615 KP) rated A Nutcracker Nightmare in Books
Oct 21, 2023
Class Bully Gets Murdered
This Christmas, Harriston High School is hosting an all years reunion. While twin sisters Alex and Hanna didn’t attend, they are helping with the weekend’s events. That’s how they meet Kyle, the class star quarterback and the class bully. He’s taken an interest in Hanna, an interest she doesn’t return. The opening night ends when Kyle is murdered, and Hanna’s fingerprint is the only one found on the murder weapon, a nutcracker. Surely someone who knew him longer had a better motive, right?
I read the first book last year and enjoyed it enough to give the series a second try. Sadly, I found the flaws the same here. The writing kept me out of the story at first, and I had a really hard time remembering who the suspects were and all their connections. But the further I got into the book, the more I got caught up in the mystery, which had some nice twists on the way to the logical solution. The main characters are great, and the recipes for the gourmet chocolates sound delicious. There is a good story here, so be patient when you pick up this book.
I read the first book last year and enjoyed it enough to give the series a second try. Sadly, I found the flaws the same here. The writing kept me out of the story at first, and I had a really hard time remembering who the suspects were and all their connections. But the further I got into the book, the more I got caught up in the mystery, which had some nice twists on the way to the logical solution. The main characters are great, and the recipes for the gourmet chocolates sound delicious. There is a good story here, so be patient when you pick up this book.
Laura (40 KP) rated There's Someone In Your House in Books
Sep 30, 2017
Gripping, difficult to put down (1 more)
The suspense and tension was really well built
I had a lot of fun reading this book. This has been compared to Scream a lot, and I can see why. There are similarities, but not so many that you know whats going to happen. I found it really difficult to put down.
* I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for review via Netgalley. This has not influenced my review.
* I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for review via Netgalley. This has not influenced my review.
MissCagey (2652 KP) rated The Paperboy (2012) in Movies
Dec 4, 2017
Can you really know someone after writing a few letters? This was an interesting film based on a true story of a woman who believed she had found her true love. the fact he was in prison for murder did not faze her and she was determined to have him released. She contacts two writers to investigate his case to try and get him freed. I really wanted to find out whether he was innocent or not and the twists and turns keep you gripped throughout. Very compelling.
Book Divas (227 KP) rated Gizelle's Bucket List: My Life with a Very Large Dog in Books
Dec 12, 2017
Finally found my notebook that contained this review!!
I must say that I experienced many emotions while reading this book. I laughed and I cried and I often reminisced about my fur baby that passed a couple of years ago as he was my love, my companion, and friend. I think that animal lovers will certainly enjoy reading about the adventures contained within this book.
{I requested a review copy from NetGalley and made no guarantees of a favorable outcome. The opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.}
I must say that I experienced many emotions while reading this book. I laughed and I cried and I often reminisced about my fur baby that passed a couple of years ago as he was my love, my companion, and friend. I think that animal lovers will certainly enjoy reading about the adventures contained within this book.
{I requested a review copy from NetGalley and made no guarantees of a favorable outcome. The opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.}
Book Divas (227 KP) rated A Stolen Kiss (Stolen Royals #1) in Books
Dec 12, 2017 (Updated Dec 12, 2017)
I received an eARC via NetGalley. I made no guarantee of a favorable review and the opinion expressed here is unbiased and my own.
I will admit that though it took me a bit to get into the swing of this story I eventually found myself getting caught in the web this author weaved. The story line did start off slow but once it picked up I enjoyed the fantasy and the beautiful characters. I must say that I loved the cover and that's the main reason why I picked this book to read.
I will admit that though it took me a bit to get into the swing of this story I eventually found myself getting caught in the web this author weaved. The story line did start off slow but once it picked up I enjoyed the fantasy and the beautiful characters. I must say that I loved the cover and that's the main reason why I picked this book to read.