I recently read and enjoyed Dangerous by Shannon Hale, which I later found out received a luke-warm reception upon its release in 2014. I rarely do this, but upon finishing the book, I logged on to Goodreads to see what other readers thought of the novel. Huge. Mistake. While I thought this novel was a rip-roaring, sci-fi adventure that… sure, had some kinks to work out, others were reluctant to rate it one or two stars (if they were even able to make it to the end of the novel). I was left wondering if we read the same book.
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In Defense of Dangerous by Shannon Hale
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Lates Fees and Library Loot
I have a confession to make. I’ve been avoiding the library like an over-hyped book. It all started a couple of months ago when I forgot to return my selection of five books for…about a week. It’s not like I had a good excuse to not return the books. It was wintertime, but the roads were not snowy. Nor did I have any weekend plans; I may have tried to convince myself that I needed to clean the apartment, but I’m pretty sure I was playing the video game, Fallout 4, and racking up late fees instead. This happened once before at my old library. I kept books for so long that I ended up racking up THIRTY DOLLARS in late fees. And then I kept avoiding all of the late fee notices for so long that eventually the library threatened to turn me over to collections, and my mom ended up paying the balance. Those were some pretty dark financial times in my life, and I hope to never revisit them again. Also, yes mom, I know I still owe you thirty dollars from like seven years ago. Do you want to just write it off to bad debt? (LOL! ACCOUNTING JOKE!) Seriously though, do you?
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The Book that Made Me Blush | The Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie
Every once in a while, I finish a book, and I’m in such awe of what I read that I struggle to find the words to express that. Sometimes I avoid writing a review for a while so I can let every character, setting, and scene sink in, but I do not have that luxury with the Sisters of Versailles by Sally Christie. To be totally honest, this review should have probably gone live several hours ago, but I’ve been budgeting my time very poorly lately, and instead found myself finishing this book during my lunch break at work today. Luckily, submersing myself in the world of the Sisters of Versailles came easily; this novel swept me off my feet faster than King Louis XV swept Louise Mailly-Nesle off her feet…or her sister Pauline…or their sisters Marie-Anne and Diane. As for this review? Bare with me here.
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The Time I Almost Abandoned a Book but Ended Up Rating it Four Stars Instead|Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
Despite never having read a review for Open Road Summer by Emery Lord, I knew that it was well-received in the book blogosphere, and I wanted to read it. I think it was the title and the cover alone that convinced me because they evoked this sense of lightheartedness and warmth and freedom that I experienced right around my senior year of high school. Clearly I did not read the synopsis for the book very well because I missed the part about broken hearts and broken arms, and I found myself rather surprised that by the end of the book, there was a lump in my throat and tears welling up in my eyes.
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Meet Maisie Dobbs | An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
I spied my first Maisie Dobbs novel while exploring the fiction stacks at my local library. It was the character’s name that first piqued my interest; I suspected she would be a plucky, young woman determined to prove herself as a private eye, which sounded right up my alley. Then, it was the beautiful book covers that made me pine for the first book in the series, something my local library unfortunately did not have. I returned week after week, but no such luck. Even though I was a tad reluctant to start yet another mystery series promptly in the middle, when TLC Book Tours offered me the opportunity to participate in the Month of Maisie blog tour, I couldn’t resist. Throughout the month of March, several bloggers will be blogging about Jacqueline Winspear’s historical mystery books from the series starter to her newest novel Maisie Dobbs: Journey to Munich, which will be released on March 29, 2016.
By Golly, Ollie! 