Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2572 KP) rated A Pairing to Die For in Books
Jan 29, 2021
The first in this series was one of my favorite books from 2020, so I had high hopes for this one. I’m pleased to say I enjoyed it. There is plenty of conflict in this book to keep us hooked. I did think the pacing started to slow in the middle, but about the time I thought that, it picked up again and kept going until we reached the end. The characters are still rich, and I appreciated the growth in their relationships, while the new characters fit perfectly into Parker’s world. For those interested because of the wine theme, there are plenty of scenes in Parker’s winery. I’d forgotten that this series is written in the present tense, which I don’t mind once my brain adjusts. There are three delicious sounding recipes with suggested wine pairings at the end of the book. If you haven’t started this series, you need to fix that. If you’ve read the first, this book will please you.
Ducklady (1174 KP) rated The Core: The Demon Cycle in Books
Aug 25, 2019
I loved the new additions to the POV characters, my favourites being Ashia and Briar. I did feel like it skated away from the main protagonists many times, which frustrated me while I was anxious to get back to Arlen and co. Saying that, the chapters for Ragen and Elissa were brilliant and gave some insight into characters that were already held dear. It revisited some of Arlen's friends from his childhood and the way they had changed from children to adults was an interesting read.
The gap in coming back to the main characters made the book even more tense and made me want to read more and more.
I was confused about the author's opinions on religion, particularly with the scenes between Arlen and Jardir. I have gotten a very negative vibe surrounding religion all throughout the series, but when they were travelling to the core, that seemed flipped on its head.
One part that really struck me was the reaction that Leesha had when she saw her rapist. she relived the moment and still spared the man's life. He was a simple monster that had been implied to have raped other women too. Leesha had a daughter to think about and I think that would have realistically caused her to execute the man, it even said that she wouldn't have been judged for it. Half the time Leesha is holier than thou, although other times she has used her flameworks and poison to kill people... like come on, kill the goddamn rapist. Other than that, this book was almost impossible to put down.
I am excited for the next series and will likely reread the entire series again.
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ClareR (6230 KP) rated Lady MacBethad in Books
Apr 4, 2023
Lady MacBethad is the story pre-Macbeth and probably closer to the truth. Shakespeare had his reasons for writing his play the way he did (keeping in with the royals and the fee-paying public, perhaps?), but it seems in reality MacBethad had more of a claim to the throne than Duncan.
This novel is of course from Lady MacBethad’s point of view - but she hasn’t got there yet. In this, she’s Gruoch, or as her grandmother says: “Groa, daughter of Boedhe, son of Coinneach, the rightful King of Alba…You will be the greatest of us all”
Gruoch is brought up in a household where her mother remembers her picti and ancient Druid heritage, but her father, Boedhe, follows the new Christian faith. Gruoch is conflicted. But she does know that she wants to be queen, and will stop at nothing to get there.
She’s so young though, and that does come across in some of her attitude, temper tantrums and opinions. She’s certainly undertaking quite some learning curve.
This was such a readable, immersive story, and I found myself backing Gruoch and wanting to actually help her (she would never have listened). I’ve no doubt this will be one of my favourite books this year - and I do wonder if there will be a sequel? I’d read it!