The Rise and Fall of Great Powers
Book
WHO IS TOOLY ZYLBERBERG? 9-year-old Tooly is living in Bangkok, largely left to her own devices,...
Gruff Rhys recommended Zimami Balibalele by Nothembi Mkhwebane in Music (curated)
Gruff Rhys recommended Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark by Gene Clark / Dillard & Clark / Doug Dillard in Music (curated)
Maltese<>English Dictionary
Reference and Education
App
With its clear definitions and carefully chosen up-to-date vocabulary from all areas of life the...
Midnight Fugue (Dalziel & Pascoe #24)
Book
It starts with a phone call to Superintendent Dalziel from an old friend asking for help. But where...
Double Alchemy (Double Alchemy #1)
Book
Powerful yet tormented modern warlock Quinn Fairmont must initiate the silver-eyed Cade Mairston...
M_M Fantasy Romance
The Dictator’s Muse
Book
It is the early 1930s, and Europe is holding its breath. As Hitler's grip on power tightens,...
Historical fiction WW2 National Socialists Blackshirts Berlin Olympics
ClareR (5674 KP) rated To The Dogs in Books
Mar 26, 2024
Jim (James) Brennan is a criminologist professor, a vice chancellor of the local university. We meet him as he gets off a flight from Beijing in order to go to his local police station where his son is being held. Jim has tried hard to make his life as different as possible from the one he grew up in: his father was a local legend and hard man. Everyone was scared of his violence. It looks as though Jim’s son is determined to take up from where his grandfather left off.
Things go from bad to worse, when someone is determined to undermine everything Jim has tried to do for himself and his family.
I really enjoyed this. There’s never a dull moment (much to Jim’s detriment!), and Jim finds himself in a terribly awkward situation. He has to decide between his family and his reputation - or is there a way that he can protect both?
This is exciting stuff, and had me guessing up to the last page.
Their Castilian Orphan (The Castilian Saga, #4)
Book
It is 1294 and Eustace de Lamont is back in England after five years in exile. He will stop at...
Historical Fiction Romance Medieval England
Kyera (8 KP) rated The Raven Boys in Books
Jan 31, 2018
The two main characters are Blue and Gansey, although they are joined by a supporting cast of about eight others. Blue is the daughter of a psychic, but the only ability she has is to amplify her surroundings. She has always known that if she kisses her true love, he will die. Gansey is the rich boy who goes to private school and has a lot of problems. His school friends also had a lot of struggles. Honestly, that's about as deep as the characterization and development felt for me, most of the times. There were a few scenes that we got to see below the surface, but in general, it felt very superficial to me.
Although the book is set in Henrietta, Virginia it takes aspects from Welsh folklore and weaves them into the narrative. As I am not familiar with Welsh folklore, I cannot speak to how accurately it is done. Personally, I didn't feel like the world or magic system was well explained. The mundane was adequately described, but the supernatural was left with a permeating air of mystery.
While the book followed an overarching plot, it also had myriad side plots and points of view thrown in which was also off-putting. They seemed incredibly irrelevant at the same and didn't contribute much to the story. Some of them ended up tying into the story in the very last chapters, leading me to say oh so that's why I've been bothering to listen to this character complain and grouse for the first three-quarters of the book. But others it seems still had no true relevance to the plot, they just added pages to the novel.
I wasn't even going to consider continuing the series until I reached those final few chapters. I still don't love the book, but I'm curious. The ending intrigued me enough that I will take a chance. I have hopes that it will improve, as so many people are in love with this series.