Review: Victory of Eagles

Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think this is my favorite Temeraire book, since the first one (His Majesty's Dragon).

What I Liked:

1. I really liked all the character growth and just the character depth in general in this book (and the rest). Laurence and Temeraire are far from perfect characters. Naomi Novik does a great job of making her protagonists likeable but having flaws. Additionally I really appreciate that the characters are growing throughout the books but also remaining internally consistent.

2. There was action and adventure! The last couple of books seemed to drag, but this one felt to move more.

Although dragon rights were a big part of this book, it didn't seem to be as annoying as it felt in previous books. It seemed more organic to discuss dragon rights than in the previous books.

What I Didn't Like:

1. There wasn't anything I really didn't like in this book. :)

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Review: Where She Went

Where She Went by Gayle Forman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where She Went is another brilliant piece of work by Gayle Forman. I was worried that Adam would not sound as true as Mia, but that was not the case. I loved and cried with Adam as much as I did with Mia.

What I Liked:
1. The book pulls at your heart strings, and you will all the pain and hope that Adam feels. It was an emotional roller coaster that was worth the cost of admission.

2. The writing was beautiful. It was like reading a dream. As the reader, I felt compelled to be very quiet, so I didn't attract the attention of Adam and Mia and make the book stop.

What I Didn't Like:
1. (view spoiler)[I don't know how I feel about the ending. As much as I wanted that ending, I am not sure if it was the true ending for the book. I feel that in the "real world" Mia and Adam would have parted as friends. Adam would have still left the band, but he and Mia wouldn't have gotten back together. I feel that Gayle Forman may have been worried about the readers being upset by a non-romantic ending. Of course, I would have been one of the people upset by the non-romantic ending and would have complained about it. ;) (hide spoiler)]

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Review: Among Others

Among Others by Jo Walton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It is one of the best books that I have read in the last few years. This book will go in my favorites folder on my kindle, and I will read it again and again in the years to come.

What I Liked:

1. I loved all of the scifi and fantasy references. Some reviewers have described this book as a love song to scifi and fantasy, and I can see why. Although I have not read many of the books, the protagonist mentions, I don't think that I missed too much. At the same time, I look forward to reading this book in the future after reading some of the books that she mentioned and seeing if I have a more nuanced understanding of the character.

2. I appreciated the book being diary entries. I think it helps remind the reader that the narrator may be unreliable. During the majority of the book, I constantly questioned what was "real." Although it frustrated me when I was reading it, I really do like the unreliable narrator concept. I kept asking myself if the magic was real or was Mori just telling me a "fairy story" as she says at the beginning of the book.

3. I feel that Jo Walton did a great job writing as a 15-year old girl. Mori had depth and talked like a girl her age. Many times authors write their teenagers as wise beyond their years or really dumb. Mori was believable.

What I Didn't Like:

1. There should be a list of all the books and authors mentioned somewhere at the end of the book. I have found websites where this was done, but it would have been nice to include in the book itself.

2. I wish that the realness of the magic had been shown earlier in the book. Although one could say that there was never any proof, I am choosing to believe that the magic was real. Therefore, a little evidence earlier on would have been nice.

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Review: The Rithmatist

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a bit challenging to review, because as much as I really enjoyed reading this book, the stuff that I didn't like (as minor as it was) bothered me quite a bit.

What I Like:
1. Magic Math! Magic Geometry! Magic Chalk! I really liked this concept, and I thought the drawings throughout the book really brought out the concept.

2. I really appreciated the fact that the adults were not idiots. Many times in YA books, the adults are ridiculous, so the children/teenagers/young adults are able to save the day. Brandon Sanderson was able to write a book were the young folks saved the day, but the adults were not stupid. I stood up and cheered when the principal rolled his eyes at Joel's stupid idea to fail a class and told Joel to speak to him next time instead of assuming that working with a Rithmatist was out of the question.

3. The plot was cute and fun. It was not the most difficult plot to figure out, but it kept my attention.

4. The writing was great. The writing really flowed.

What I Didn't Like
1. Although I liked the fact that the adults were super smart, I felt bad that Joel and Melody weren't able to discover some stuff on their own. I almost felt like this book was showing off how stupid kids can be some times (instead of adults). It almost seemed like the anti-YA book.

2. I enjoyed all the math and geometry magic fighting, but I wished that Brandon Sanderson had spent more time early on talking about other aspects of Rithmancy. I feel like I didn't get a good understanding of the magic system. Because of this lack of understanding, I feel that I didn't really appreciate the magic system as much as I could.

3. I don't want to get into too much detail about this final point, because I don't know completely how I feel about it just yet and it is completely subjective; however, I have mixed feelings about the religion and magic link. Maybe it is because Brandon Sanderson did not go into too much detail about it or because some of the writing pushed some buttons in me about my own personal views, but in any event...I have mixed feelings about this aspect of the book.

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Review: Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed

Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed: by Jeremy Greenberg
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Suffice it to say, I did not enjoy this little book targeted towards a cat lovers.

What I Liked:
1. The pictures of the cats and kittens were quite cute.
2. The premise of cats and kittens writing letters was adorable.

What I Didn't Like:
1. The letters did not draw me in. Even though each letter was short, my attention span drifted while reading them.

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Review: Cats Are Weird

Cats are Weird and More Observations by Jeffrey Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a collection of comic strips about cats. It is adorable, if you have a cat. If you don't have a cat, it may not be adorable.

What I Liked:
1. Cute drawings of cats!

2. "My cat does that too!" Okay, that isn't a good descriptor of the book, but yeah...

What I Didn't Like:
1. It was very short. I am glad that I borrowed it from the library, because I will most likely not reread it.





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Review: Empire of Ivory

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am not sure, if I am just losing steam on the Temeraire books or the series is just starting to drag. I had purposefully read several books between Black Powder War, because I had this same feeling after the third Temeraire book. Apparently, it has not been enough time.

What I Liked about the Book:

1. Temeraire and Laurence visited a new place! I really enjoy reading about how dragons live in different parts of the world. I really appreciate it when authors' world building includes different cultures. It gives you an idea of the diversity of the world.

2. I feel that the characters appear to be growing as individuals. Temeraire is not the same little dragon that we met in His Majesty's Dragon.

What I Didn't Like:

1. Although I am sure that other people like this, I do not care for all the books reading into one another. The plot of the last book slammed into the beginning of this book, and the end of this book most likely slams into the beginning of the next one. I prefer a little bit of time between books. It feels like all these books were supposed to be one long book, but the editors split them. They lose the sense of individuality.

2. Maybe because my attention was waning in this one, but I don't feel Temeraire talked as much in this one. And I need to be honest, I read the books for Temeraire, not Laurence (who is a bit of a stick in the mud).

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