Sci Fi and Fantasy

Guardian of the Dead

2011, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

We finally finished listening to Guardian of the Dead (from the Cybils shortlist) – there was a lot to like about this book but Ellie Spencer drove us a bit crazy. It’s one thing for a teenage girl to be self-deprecating and have body issues but Elly’s issues were excessive. It was tough to listen to and I think it was a little much.

The Maori mythology was cool. I love a good creation story, after all. The magic was interesting.

This book also has something that no other book has… it has THE most disgusting scene ever. (It has several really disgusting scenes actually but one of them, involving geckos… that will live on as being the worst scene ever. EWWWWW.)

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Redemption (Finished a book – finally. #readathon)

2011, Books in Bed, Dewey's Readathon, Kindle, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I finally finished Redemption. Finally. Lord that was long – and really, it’s the only complaint I have about this book. It was just a wee bit too long the beginning should have been edited a bit. I think the lead was just a little to long. Otherwise – interesting story – demons, angels, wiccans, gargoyles. Who doesn’t love that?

I will be interested to see what happens after the flying carpet and the ring of Solomon.  See – how awesome is that?

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The Twelfth Enchantment

2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Women /

It took me days and days and days to read The Twelfth Enchantment, which is weird since it’s written by the author of The Coffee Trader and Conspiracy of Paper (both books I really enjoyed.)  I was just too busy and too exhausted to read more than a couple of chapters each night – until last night when I was 100 pages from finishing and just couldn’t put it down until I found out how Lucy managed in the end.  (That’s how I would normally have read this book, had it been a more normal week. This is a great book to read straight through…)

(Oh – one other weird thing might have kept me from being able to read this book quickly… I’m reading another paranormal type of book on my iPhone while waiting in the car for kid pick up or waiting for a phone meeting to start… and we’re listening to a paranormal type of book on audio while we’re driving. The three sometimes blended together and I found myself mixing up monsters or supporting characters and having to stop and think about which book I was actually reading, lol. I don’t recommend reading three paranormal books at the same darn time.)

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Fever Crumb

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

This was not my favorite middle grade scifi/fantasy but it wasn’t bad either. I can see why Fever Crumb made it to the Cybils Shortlist but if there’s a sequel. London far in the future is kind of amusing, mostly because of the small twists language has taken. The only real problem with this book  was that I didn’t end up loving Fever Crumb. I liked her well enough but I think I might have liked poor Charley better.

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Plain Kate

2011, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

Plain Kate is on the Cybils shortlist in the YA Science Fiction/Fantasy category…. And with that, I take a sigh of relief. Because the ending of this book… wah! While listening, I thought it was middle grade SciFi/Fantasy and that bit seemed a bit much.  (It involves cats… and knives… and blood… and fire… and it was rough….)

Anyway, about the book itself, it started a little slowly but once Plain Kate had moved to her father’s stall and Linay arrived, things moved more quickly.  The biggest problem with the book, for me, is that Kate didn’t connect the dots more quickly. This lack of understanding made it seem like it was middle grade rather than YA. I cannot imagine a teenager alive who would not have rolled her eyes at Kate’s inability to figure out WHO Linay was. It was almost painful. Kate wasn’t stupid and she should have figured it out much, much earlier.

Other than that… enjoyed it quite a bit.

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Hex Hall and Demonglass

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I could have sworn I read Hex Hall last year but apparently I only thought I read it – or maybe I started it and never finished it? Whatever – I’ve read it and Demonglass and I’m dying for the next book. I really hated the cliffhanger in Demonglass – what in the heck are they going to do NOW? And where is Jenna?? And… and… and… great series. I just need book three immediately!

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The Night Circus

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, From the Stacks Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

@sassymonkey went to BEA and all I got was a really awesome, amazing, unforgettable book (an advanced copy.) WIN for me!  (OK I got some other books but this is the first one I’ve read…)

The Night Circus was… Magical. Fabulous. Creepy. Beautiful. Fascinating. Frightening. Overwhelming. Awe-inspiring. A-Freaking-Mazing.

I’m talking about both the book and the Le Cirque des Reves.

This is the kind of book that I want to devour in one sitting. But it’s also the kind of book that I wanted to put down and think about – to really dig into the imagery. I wanted to know how it all ended but I was sorry to see it end. (And it ended so very well, I think.)

This one… might be the best book I read all year.

You should pre-order now.  I’m actually wondering whether I’d like it just as well on audio and am considering buying it on audio. That my friends is how much I like this story.

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Tooth & Claw

2011, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Liz Henry has been recommending Tooth & Claw to me for AGES. I didn’t ignore her, exactly. I just don’t really like books about dragons (all you Ann McAffrey fans can feel free to yell at me now, I’m used to it.) 

When she recommended it again last month, I decided to go ahead and give it a try.

I read a chapter and put it down. I don’t like dragon books.

I read another chapter and put it down. Nope, still don’t like dragon books.

I read a few more chapters and put it down. Yawn… dragon books.

I finished it last night and while I still don’t like dragon books, I found myself chuckling through the last half of the book. The dragons grew on me. Or maybe it was the narrator. The proposals and deaths and confessions – funny. Very funny.

Victorian romance-y thing but with dragons. Heh. OK I’m chuckling again.

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The Book of Tomorrow

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I love a book with a great cover and The Book of Tomorrow’s cover is awesome. Also, it had a bookmark ribbon. I like that. There should be more books with bookmark ribbons. As for the book itself – I liked it but I wish there’d been a bit more about the magic of the diary. That thing played a big role and it was never really given much attention. Tamara was a great character. So was Sister Ignatius. Heck, Rose was good too – in an evil sort of way. I’m not sure I liked the summary at the end, which explains how Rose got to be who she was. I like a nice wrap up but I don’t think this chapter worked quite as well as the rest of the book.

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