Category: Book Review

Book 16: The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

I finally got around to reading something of John Green’s. I’d heard so many good things about his work, and this book in particular. I knew that even though it was about someone with cancer, it was going to be a meaningful, enjoyable read, not something simply depressing. I wasn’t disappointed, and I’d say it exceeded my expectations.

Hazel is a 16-year-old with thyroid cancer. Her cancer is being kept at bay by a new miracle drug, but she doesn’t know how long she has left. At her cancer support …

Book 15: Stories: All-New Tales, edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio

It took me a long time to finish this book. I’ve read it bit by bit between other books, when I had nothing else I was reading. By no means was it bad–it was excellent, masterpiece after masterpiece. Some stories were creepy, some were heartwarming, some were strange, and some were all of the above. Even the introduction was amazing, which I quoted in my recent blog post about why I like to read.

I find it difficult to read short stories. Every one of them took …

Book 14: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor

I picked this book up recently at Waterstone’s along with The Hundred-Year-Old Man on a whim. I was not disappointed by either choice. The cover of this book grabbed my interest immediately, and I remembered seeing a review of it on a blog that I follow, which made it look promising. Not to mention a favorite author of mine, Patrick Rothfuss, gave the review, “Wow. I wish I had written this book.”

Karou has two lives. In one, she is an art student in Prague. In the other, she …

Book 13: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson

Allan Karlsson is about to turn one-hundred. His birthday party at the old folks home is all planned out for him, and the mayor and the press will be there. But he has had enough, and instead escapes through his window. This begins a crazy, Forrest Gump-esque adventure filled with both lighthearted and dark humor. The story switches between the present day and Allan’s past, which is equally as unbelievable.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this up at a …

Book 12: Libriomancer, by Jim Hines

If there is one place I take book recommendations seriously from, it is my favorite authors. When I saw this was recommended by Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle, which I’ve written a review for), and then discovered it was considered “urban fantasy”, a genre I haven’t explored but have wanted to try, I figured it was worth a read.

Isaac Vainio is a libriomancer working in a bookshop. One day a group of vampires attacks the shop, and with the help of his friend Lena–a dryad–they barely escape alive. Until …

Book 10: The Chronological Man: The Monster In The Mist, by Andrew Mayne

This is a series of novellas set in the late 19th century about a man, Smith, who investigates strange phenomena where the police have failed. This is the first book in the series, where he meets a new assistant, April Malone. April takes a job as a secretary/assistant, and reads newspapers and magazines and books for research, and makes coffee and sets out pastries every day, for a man she never sees. Then one day, Smith appears, and the adventure begins. People keep going missing in …

Apologies for the lack of non-book-review posts, I’ll write one eventually… I’m spending a lot of time reading on the train these days!

Book 9: The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I wanted a change of pace from my usual epic fantasy genre, asked friends for recommendations, and found this masterpiece. It’s the second five-star book I’ve read this year, and it well deserves it.

A father takes his young son to a place called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. When you are first taken there, you are allowed to choose and take a book, and …

Book 8: A Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin

I wrote a review for the first book in the series a couple of months ago. It’s now been a couple of weeks since I read the second, and I’m eager to post a review of the book I finished today (look for it in the near future). So here goes–and don’t worry about spoilers!

This book is definitely a continuation of the story in A Game of Thrones, rather than a standalone novel. The kingdom is in turmoil, and while the people fight among themselves, it …

Book 7: The Summer of No Regrets, by Katherine Grace Bond

The title and cover may scream “YA romance”, and it is that, but it is in no way typical of the genre. Parts of Brigitta’s life reminded me of mine, and not just because the story is set in the Pacific Northwest. Her parents own a center for gatherings and frequently host groups of people practicing Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Native American Spirituality, even things a bit more out there. She feels frequently embarrassed by her parents. She has a blog, and a best friend who loves celebrity gossip. …

Book 6: A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin

I have to admit, the main reason I was drawn to this author was the title of the most recent one in the series, A Dance with Dragons. I love anything that has to do with dragons. So I looked up the first book, read some reviews, asked some friends–and was surprised at the amount of encouragement they had for me to read it.

I was gripped from the start. The prologue was exciting, haunting, and a hint that this book wasn’t just kings and courts and …