Between the Sea and Stars
5.5
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A Legend, A Magical Shell A Girl Who Dreamed Of Something More... Lena, a Merrow girl, lives...
mermaids mythology romance retelling fairy tale retelling young adult
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2434 KP) rated Verse and Vengeance (A Magical Bookshop Mystery #4) in Books
Sep 7, 2021
I really enjoyed the third book in the series earlier this year, so I sat down looking forward to this one. Sadly, the mystery disappointed. While there are some developments, the pacing could have been better. Then, in the rush to wrap things up, a major part of the mystery remains unexplained. I don’t normally read paranormal cozies, but I do enjoy the magical essence of this series. We get some additional mythology here, which I appreciated. Likewise, the series characters continue to grow, as do their relationships. Series fans will still enjoy this book even if the mystery could be stronger.
Daughter of Sparta (Daughter of Sparta, #1)
8.0
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Seventeen-year-old Daphne has spent her entire life honing her body and mind into that of a warrior,...
Spider man
8.3
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Marvel's Spider-Man[a] is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by...
David McK (3623 KP) rated Kingdom of Bones (Sigma Force #16) in Books
Oct 22, 2023
It was a little uncomfortable doing so at first, especially as the main driver for the plot was the start of a worldwide pandemic that badly affected the Human Race.
Caused by mans encroachment of, and deforestation of, Nature.
Sound at all familiar?
Indeed, in his foreward the author even states that he debated finishing the novel for that very reason ...
Anyway, once you get past the uncomfortable feeling, what you have here is a fairly standard Sigma Force story, with Guy Pierce and his team racing against the clock to find the cause of, and a cure to, the contagion whilst other members of the team look for a scientific solution.
I have to say, however, that this particular entry didn't gel as much with me: perhaps because of the complete sidelining of Seichan and Guy's home life? Perhaps because I didn't find the heavy focus on the natural world as interesting as those that focus more on history (and mythology).
Whatever the reason, it just didn't come across as enjoyable to me.
Stone Blind
10.0
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'So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call...
Greek Mythology Historical fiction Retellings Feminism
Daughters of Sparta
8.0
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Two sisters parted. Two women blamed. Two stories reclaimed. As princesses of Sparta, Helen and...
Historical fiction Greek Mythology Retellings Greece
Talent (Descended From Myth #2)
10.0
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Porter McGavin spends his nights lost in shattered memories of blood, sand, and ammunitions, and his...
Fantasy Romance Young Adult Mythology
Savage Beasts
9.0
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Bengal is on the brink of war. The East India Company, led by the fearsome Sir Peter Chilcott, are...
Historical fiction Mythology Retellings India Colonialism
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Abandon (Abandon, #1) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
The way the book begins throws me -- told through the eyes of Pierce Oliviera, which is not that great of a name for a girl (instead of Persephone?), the author refrains from giving away hardly anything about Pierce's circumstances, what happened to her, what motivates her, etc. While it can be considered good writing to hold back on the major revelations as long as possible to build the suspense and draw in the reader, for me it was rather frustrating to read almost the entire book before Pierce finally realized who and what John Hayden is(also a crummy name for a death deity). Much of the actual events of the book are Pierce's memories, and what happens in real time is the culmination of these memories.
While I disliked the way that Meg Cabot chose to string all of these separate events together, I do like what the actual events create when put together. A girl who has a Near-Death Experience, or NDE, meets for the second time the man who runs her personal Underworld, instantly making her his consort thanks to a rare diamond necklace, though she does not yet know it. Her ability to skirt death makes her a target for the bad guys in the book, the Furies (not the same as the Furies of Greek mythology), who blame John for their lot in life after death. In addition, Pierce also has a host of quirks that alternately set her up for disaster or save her life, such as her addiction to soda and her paranoia that tassels are Evil.
While Pierce has a vast array of personality and behavioral problems that make the act of living difficult for her, I do think that this book fits well in the Young Adult category. Pierce does not have everything figured out, does not always know how to handle herself, and does not even recognize when she is in love. She is protective of her feelings, can be just as detached as the next person from those around her, and has to work at not being too self-absorbed. Sometimes an imperfect heroine makes for a better book. I look forward to the next installment in the trilogy, Underworld.