Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen #2)

The problem with reading the first book and then waiting for the second is that 1) you forget details of the first and 2) your enthusiasm tends to go to another source.

This is the second book on the Red Queen series and I have to admit that my glowing review of the first one to a friend didn't trigger my enthusiasm for this one.  If I had of read them back to back I would have been fine and enjoyed it more but as it was this one was a bit of a chore for me.

Victoria picks up right where she left off in Red Queen.  Mare being pursued by Maven with all her friends by her side.

Lots of action and some angst but all in all not too bad.

Read if you read the Red Queen.

Stars Above - Marissa Meyers - A Lunar Chronicles Collection

Mercy me but Marissa Meyers is giving us more!!  I was so excited! 

I love how she is "filling" in the story - but from other perspectives.  There are 9 short stories in here - only one is of a character you've never met in the Lunar Chronicles. 

The Keeper: How Princess Selene came to be in the care of Michelle Benoit and how Scarlet while living there never knew.

Glitches:  This is a prequel to Cinder and shows how the plaque affect Cinder when she went to live with the Linh's.

The Queen's Army:  This is Wolf's story - how he came to be a solider.

Carswell's Guide To Being Lucky: 13 year old Carswell Thorne's story.

After Sunshine Passes:  9 year old Cress's story.

The Princess and the Guard:  Young Winter and Jacin's story.

The Little Android:  This is a retelling of the little mermaid in the Lunar Chronicle world. 

The Mechanic:  Retelling of Cinder and Kai's meeting form Kai's perspective.

Something Old, Something New:  Takes place after Winter book.  Old friends gather for the wedding of the century.

Once again Marissa has delved into the stories and her writing shines through.  This book is an absolute must for those that have already read the series.  I felt The Little Android was a little out of place with the other 8 stories as they are all prequel type stories and that one is a random one off.  It's beautifully written but just seems out of place here.

But yes read this one for sure!

The Commoner - John Burnham Schwartz

I became interested in this book because once again it was listed under reading material under "Japanese reading".  You know the one thing I love about books is the that they still have the ability to surprise me and spur my curiosity about the world around me.

John Burnham Schwartz basis this book loosely on Empress Michiko, current Empress Consort in Japan.  She was the first non-aristocratic woman to marry into the Imperial household. 

Haruko was born into a well to do family (her fathers was nicknamed the Sake King) in the late 40's.  In 1959 she meets the current crown prince in a tennis match and they start spending more and more time together.  Eventually this leads to a marriage proposal...then 3 more.  Finally she accepts and it's her story of adjusting to imperial life.

The whole book is told through Haruko's eyes.  While not used to reading about Japan in the latest centuries I still found the story itself intriguing.  And the fact that John speaks as a woman throughout the whole book, while it threw me a bit in the beginning, it still got the story told.  The first part of the book was interesting enough - Haruko's life and relationship with her parents as an only child.  Her relationship in particular with her father mirrors the same relationship I have with my father and that endeared them to me much more so.  After she marries the crown prince I found the book to almost lose heart like Haruko herself, the life seems to leave the book and it ends abruptly.  Like the last 5-6 chapters jump in time considerably with no concept of telling the story anymore.  Almost as if the author either didn't have the time to finish telling it, or lost interest.  The ending left me feeling like I still wanted to grasp at the story.  Which prompted me to start researching the real Empress Consort and her daughter-in-law. 

I dunno maybe that was the point of the book, to reach out to the reader and say hey, this is an interesting story and delve deeper into what it takes to live as royalty in our modern world.

If you don't pick up the book, at least Google Empress Michiko.  And who knows maybe that will prompt you to read the book to gain a better understanding of what it truly means to have that fairytale romance with royalty...

Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones

I was interested to learn that Hayao Miyazaki did his movie from this novel.  With some changes of course.

Diana did a fantastic job writing about the characters and bringing them to life.  There isn't as much "action" per say as the movie but there is intrigue and if you've never seen the movie then you'll enjoy it.  If you have seen the movie you'll still enjoy it but you'll just know some plot points before they happen.  However because there's no war going on it's different and it will still be fresh.

Sophie is the oldest of 3 sisters and works in her family's hat shop.  One day a customer comes in a curses her so that she looks "old" like a 90 year old woman.  Since Sophie has always felt this way it wasn't hard for her to feel it.  She leaves her family's hat shop to find work elsewhere so she won't be a burden to her family and step-mom.  She wanders into the hills above the town and comes upon Howl's moving castle.  She sets herself up as his old cleaning lady despite Howl's young apprentice's protests.  Soon she's drawn into a very different world than she knew and learns things about herself she didn't realize before.

I quite enjoyed it.  It's a very fast read as it's young adult.  AND another interesting fact is it's a trilogy!  The second and third books have Howl & Sophie & Calcifer in them but they aren't the focal point.  It's an interesting concept.

Me Before You - Jojo Moyes

Ok so I admit that I watched the movie before reading this. 

Ugh.  Make sure you have tissues and some kind of comfort food when you read this.  Seriously.  Especially the ending.

Louisa, a witty, outgoing 26yr old in England loses her job at the local bakery and goes to the Job Centre to find a job.  Through this she takes a job with the Traynor family who owns the local castle.  Their son is a quadriplegic and needs a companion.   Louisa signs on for 6 months but her first impressions of Will are not good.  Will she be able to make it through?

Ok so not my best reader's digest version of the novel above but I'm hoping that I'll make it sound more appealing here.  This is one of those books that makes you think - about life, things going on around you and about yourself.  With the movie I got more wrapped up in the relationships - Louisa and her family, Will and his family and the unique bond that forms between Louisa and Will.  The book was slightly different in the way they presented those relationships (the book has a sister to Will whereas the movie doesn't for example).  I truly think you need to read the book AND watch the movie to be able to get the whole picture so to speak.  Not necessarily in that order either.  Both made me cry.  The book helped me understand the limitations of quadriplegics and the obstacles that they face everyday.  The movie helped me understand that when you look at someone you get so much more out of a look, whether it's between parents, co-workers or someone you are in a relationship with.  I must admit that I liked Louisa better in the movie than I did in the book.  And I really disliked Louisa's sister in the book.  Whereas in the movie she only plays a minor supporting role. 

Ok I'll stop comparing the book to the movie since this blog is about book reviews and not comparisons to movies made from books.

Jojo writes very well from the medical aspect of quadriplegics and their requirements.  It's not overflowing to the point you want to go cross eyed from medical terminology but she helps you understand just what is involved.  It feels like you are learning along with Louisa.  Emotionally you connect with her frustration in coming into a situation that is so new and out of her comfort zone.  It is a gripping testimony that although life throws some pretty hard curve balls, that a positive smile and willingness to fight can get you through anything.

I would DEF recommend!!

The Feast of Roses - Indu Sundaresan

Well since I devoured the Twentieth Wife I figured I should finish the series.

This book picks up a couple of weeks after the finish of the Twentieth Wife ends.  This one is def more about the politics after Nur Jahan is married to the Emperor, her struggle to rise to the power in the harem and the struggle to keep that power.  She also battles with people who view her as a threat - a threat to the empire, to their way of life and to themselves.

This one was more of a struggle than the last one (even tho the last one frustrated me).  I'm more of an enjoyer of sweeping stories, romance and less of politics and this was FULL of politics.  I think the power, like with most people, went to her head and she far over stepped her boundaries.  However those that were against her plotted against her - did they push her to make the decisions she made?   In the beginning she asked to be equal to the Emperor, in a land where the Emperor is the ultimate be all and end all.  So did she push people to be her enemies by gaining so much power, thusly her enemies pushing back and then just the domino effect?  I will let you as the reader judge.

If you read the Twentieth Wife then I would recommend this as your second read too.

Frostbike - Tom Babin

Got sidetracked in my quest to find balance between working full time and exercise.  This book was recommended to me by my bike specialist and is well worth the read.

Tom is a native to Calgary, Alberta (where I live) and not only does he discuss a couple winter's struggles with biking here but he also goes into the long history of winter biking in general, the disillusions we convince ourselves of in winter and the general mechanics of winter bike riding.  No those that ride in winter aren't crazy.  And those that think about riding in winter aren't crazy either.  Especially if you've ever stood outside in -31°C waiting for a bus in Calgary.  Like everything in life there are obstacles, like the unique chinooks here in Calgary, but its all about mindset and wellness. 

I'm struggling with exercise (who isn't??) and riding a bike to work takes two things off my list at once - exercise and the need for transportation.  But like every Canadian city we deal with winter and typically that means the end of cycling.  Or does it?

A very good read.  Tom is a writer by trade and his style is informative and filled with personal what-works-and-what-doesn't anecdotes. 

Worth the read and I highly recommend reading it even if you don't plan to ride in winter.