For the 4th of July weekend Darik and I were quite lazy. Our house was clean from the many potential buyers/renters who were coming through somewhat endlessly, but had settled down for everyone to enjoy their own holidays. I actually had time to stop cleaning and pick up a book in the middle of the day! I'd decided to clear out my "currently-reading" shelf, but couldn't bring myself to jump into WWII Berlin on such a chill weekend. I chose to read for escapism - which isn't my primary motivation for entertainment. I'm one of those people that likes City of Angels because it ended badly and made you think. Anyways - so I pick up Ranger's Apprentice #2 (thank goodness my neighbor had copies of the whole series, it would have taken forever to get all 10 from the library).

This was a fun continuation of the story of Halt, the Kingdom's greatest Ranger and his apprentice Will. This isn't filled with the complexities of The Thief series, but it isn't too simple, either. We see character development of all of our main players: Halt, Will, Horace, Alyss, etc. And enjoy getting to know second teir characters better, Gilan, as well as meet some newbies, the King and the Princess. I was surprised at the cliffhanger ending, because the last book ended tidily. But I guess I'll adapt, as the series has 8 more books, and he needs to transition them more seamlessly. Also, he can't really pack it in there - so this is the perfect length when you are looking for something short and fun.