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Dana (24 KP) rated Dracula in Books

Mar 23, 2018

Dracula

Roy Thomas | 2010

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

I loved this edition of Dracula. Though I have not finished the novel itself, I have friends who have and they assured me that this does not leave much out.

The story itself was quite interesting. As one of the first full vampire novels, I can see how others have drawn inspiration from this book.

There were parts that I was not a fan of, that felt rushed, but as these are journal entries and letters, there would not be the drawn out narratives that would be there were it someone's novel.

The art was very well done. I loved the color uses and the playing with shadows to make it seem more foreboding. It was beautiful.

That being said, in this particular edition, some of the text was difficult to see. Because the artists were differentiating the writers by color and font, this made some of the combinations difficult to read. In particular, I found it difficult to read Mina's writing. Since it was pink on pink with a cursive type font, everything looked jumbled together and was just, in general, difficult to read.

That is the main reason I gave it two stars off, though I actually give this book a 3.5. I liked the story and I am excited to actually pick up and read the full novel, hopefully soon, to see if I can mark the differences between the two.

Kudos

LilyLovesIndie (123 KP) rated By the Rivers of Water: A Nineteenth-Century Atlantic Odyssey in Books

Nov 5, 2018

I was highly intrigued by this book when I first read about it as I have a minor obsession with everything and anything to do with the American Civil War. Admittedly, this is pre-war and gives an insight into the efforts of missionary do-gooders in trying to relocate the African American population back to their 'native' home.

I was expecting a more fictional style of writing, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it is written in more of a recount style of the lives of the main family, namely Leighton Wilson. The detail and attention paid to the research shone through in every page and was highly informative to read. However, at times this book did have a tendency to drag, and I suspect it is due to the overwhelming attention to small detail. Fabulous if you're using the book as a research project, not so if you're reading out of curiosity into this era of history. In addition, it also occasionally lacked the fine balance between informative on the religious aspect of the missions and preaching through the pages. As a not so religious person, this did become annoying at times, but I could understand why Clarke had this tone in the book.

Overall, an enjoyable, if not very long, book that was incredibly informative and rather enjoyable. The addition of the photographs and personal snippets from letters added a very personal and enjoyable aspect to the tale of the Wilson's.

Kudos

Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated To All the Boys I've Loved Before in Books

Dec 20, 2018

I picked this up mostly because the trailer for the Netflix adaptation looked AMAZING. It's the first book in a trilogy, and I really want to read the other two now! Lara Jean is the middle daughter in a house of three daughters, being raised by their widower father. The relationships between the four of them play a large part in the book, as they are all adjusting to the eldest daughter being away at college. Everyone's roles are changing, and in the middle of that, Lara Jean's private love letters get mailed to the boys she wrote them to, throwing her love life into chaos as well.

I loved almost every character in this book - even Lara's troublemaking best friend has a good heart. I definitely need to watch the Netflix show now, because I really want to see how Chris - aforementioned best friend - is represented!

The family scenes around Christmas really tugged at my heart - Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and the author absolutely NAILED the nostalgic, slightly dreamy, loving holiday atmosphere.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before was a cute, sweet read, and really my only negative thing to say about it is the ending left me hanging! Which is part of why I really need to read the other two books, so I suppose it was a good strategy. But man I hate cliffhangers!

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com