I've read a few bad reviews, but for the most part, it's all been good. It gets a 4.45 average rating here (which is on the high scale for GR) and 4.5 average rating on Amazon. I agree with them!

Wow. Seriously? I'm impressed! It's gotten some crap reviews so I wasn't so sure about it. I guess I'll have to keep it on my to read shelf now!

16. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - 5 stars.

Hands down my favorite fantasy read of the year. Loved it, can't say enough about it. The quality of Rothfuss' writing - the story, characters, and world-building - is amazing. Compelling is putting it mildly; there were times when I had to put the book down and thought of nothing else until I could pick it up again. One of the things I liked best and had never read before was the way the magic worked and was explained. Although the beginning started off a little slowly, my only real complaint (and it's minor) was the ending. The last couple of chapters again slow down a lot and then the final exchange between Bast and the Chronicler in the last chapter seemed out of left field. I think a stronger transition between book 1 and 2 could have been written; Rothruss certainly knows how to build the suspense and anticipation between chapters and plotpoints, so I'm not sure what went wrong.

Either way, I can't wait for book 2!

Viola wrote: " It is a wonder that you are tired today, Jenn. After a quiet night at home with some tea and your knitting project you've been working on, I would think you would be quite well-rested today. After all, how tiring can darning a few socks be? Geesh! "

Darn that darning! I really need to lay low with all that knitting... ^_~

I swapped The Tudors for the Twilight books with a workmate who's just getting into the books. ^o^

Jen and I are about an hour away from each other, so no cubicle parties. *morose* But we like to dream!

Oh, Sans...enjoy that smokin' hot Johnathan Rhys Meyers. I do LOVE him as King Henry, and Jayne's Henry Cavill is in the Tudors too! Hotness galore!

I know you two are in the same city, but you aren't really close enough to each other to hang out in cubicles are you? If so, then I'm going to the library right NOW to play with Melis, and I'm going to talk about it all day to make you jealous. :)

I want to play with you guys in a cubicle too! *pouts*

It is a wonder that you are tired today, Jenn. After a quiet night at home with some tea and your knitting project you've been working on, I would think you would be quite well-rested today. After all, how tiring can darning a few socks be? Geesh!

Hee hee...

Woot!

Party in my cubicle!

I'll be right there!

I have a space heater, chocolate and season 1 of The Tudors at my desk. Want to join me?

I'm tired. That's all I have to say for today.

I don't have a Kindle. I'm not sure I can get one. I LOVE holding books in my hand, and I love owning books. They are everywhere in my house, in boxes in the attic, and at school. I still have books from when I was a kid stored at my mom's house and my dad's house too! I love to buy books! Love it! So...I can't really answer your question, Sans! I will say that if I read a newspaper article on the computer, I tend to read it much faster and skim around. I'm sort of distracted by the technology. I don't like to watch television shows online as well either. I can't focus as well, and while reading the rest of the time, I have no attention/distraction issues.

Does anyone else seem to have a hard time absorbing what you're reading on a Kindle?? I feel like the books I've read on it end up not being too clear in my memory. Like actually holding a paper book somehow makes me remember the story better. O_o

HOLLA!

I read Hush Hush and LOVED it, but I read it in a day. It's all a blur. I own it though, so I could reread if anyone wants to at the same time.

I think I thought that he found out he had to kill her, but once he met her, he fell in love with her??? Geesh! Why can't I recall this very well? I mean, I do remember it very much and liked the scenes with Patch and Nora because I thought he was smokin' hot and scary in a bad boy way. Perhaps I was too focused on that and didn't get many other details!

Yeah, he was surprised that the girl he wanted to kill was the girl he had to save to get his wings back. He kept wanting to kill her until he got to know her through spending time with her, then he fell in love with her.

Sans wrote: "****HUSH, HUSH SPOILERS*****


Jen, I didn't read it that way. I read it as he had an idea of what he wanted to do (kill his vassal's descendant) and found out it was Nora, 8 months before they bec..."

Sans, This is how I had interpreted it as well. To my recollection (and it is spotty as I read it quickly and had to return it - so I could be very wrong), Dabria pointed out Nora, and he did start at her name. However, I thought that was because he recognized that she was the bloodline of his servant boy.

That definitely wouldn't make sense! I think I might pick up a copy from the library this weekend (SO much easier to flip through than on the kindle!!) and double check. Now I'm curious which is the right interpretation of events!

Sans wrote: He didn't fall in love with her until after they'd spent time together (when they ate tacos at her house after going to the carnival)."

See, this was one of the things I didn't understand. From my reading, he had already fallen in love with her BEFORE he had ever met her and that didn't make sense to me at all. That made him weird because I couldn't really see much in her to make him to do that. Even after they met, really... Gah, I guess I should just read it again, LOL.

****HUSH, HUSH SPOILERS*****


Jen, I didn't read it that way. I read it as he had an idea of what he wanted to do (kill his vassal's descendant) and found out it was Nora, 8 months before they became lab partners. When he planted the suggestion for the seating change in the bio teachers head, he was still going to kill her. He didn't fall in love with her until after they'd spent time together (when they ate tacos at her house after going to the carnival).

Dabria (Miss Green, the school therapist/angel of death) is the one that pointed Patch in the direction of Nora initially. When she realized that he couldn't decide if he wanted to kill her or save her (after he became her lab partner), Dabria turned jealous and psycho.

I don't have the book in front of me (it's on the Kindle which Sans has) and I read it pretty quickly a while ago, but as far as I remember, in the flashbacks, Patch is watching her, figuring out everything about her and falling in love and that's when the blonde angel gal (pretend school therapist) notices and starts to feel all threatened and jealous. I think the reason he starts watching Nora in the first place is because he figured out her bloodline.

In the flashbacks, Patch had been following Nora and falling in love with her (so much so that other angels were noticing) and yet he hadn't even met her.

MAJOR SPOILERS

Jenn,
I had to read Hush Hush really fast to get it back to the library, so I can't reference it right now. But can you elaborate? I am forgetting where this happens in the flashbacks.

So good, right?? Definitely a book meant to be read many times!

Jenn "Awww Yeaaahhh" wrote: "115. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - 4.5 stars.

I loved this one and can't wait to read it again. Perfectly crafted, I flew through it in one setting and couldn't put it down..."

I LOVED THIS BOOK TOO!!!

115. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - 4.5 stars.

I loved this one and can't wait to read it again. Perfectly crafted, I flew through it in one setting and couldn't put it down. Best to go into this book knowing nothing about the plot, the gift lies in the way the story unfolds and the gripping sense of dread and foreboding that hangs over the reader as you race toward the end, the answers, the meaning. The depth and detail and subtlety of this YA book is remarkable.

I am going to leave you a message on your cell with only, "Seriously, right??" and you will have to save it and replay it whenever you read a message or post from me. It fits especially after "my precious Miach", "pancakes on abs", "oh my GAH!" and "BOO, G!". :)

I hope your Dutch blood pulls you through your cold!

Jenn "Awww Yeaaahhh" wrote: "Seriously, RIGHT?! XD

I hope you are having a good day today, my Precious!"

Yes! That, "Seriously, RIGHT?!" is exactly what I am talking about! I can totally hear you saying that. Hee hee!

It is a good day. I have a cold and a scratchy throat, so I sound like Demi Moore. :) I wish! I sound more stuffy than anything.

Seriously, RIGHT?! XD

I hope you are having a good day today, my Precious!

Re: # 114.

All I have to say is, "GAH!" And now I can hear you saying, "I know. Right???" :)

114. The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent Families Regarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and the Security of the Realm by Patricia C. Wrede - 3 stars, just barely.

This one is a toughie for me. I loved the first one, enjoyed the second one, but this last installment was honestly very hard for me to get through. I LOVED spending time again with Kate and Thomas and Cecy and James and being introduced to their children - that part was great. But the plot… GAH! It really was all just so convoluted and confusing and really, I could barely get into all the ley lines and steam engines and Cromwell and Queen Victoria nonsense and then when they tied it all up - more GAH! If the authors decide to do another (and yes, I will be there), I really hope they can focus on a more cohesive and interesting plot; it's a shame because I feel such wonderful characters deserve so much better!

Ok, I have finally put in reviews for the last 3 books I read. Phew!

113. Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev - 2 stars.

I had only read great reviews on GR and Amazon, so maybe my expectations were a little too high, but I just did NOT like this book. So much so that I just returned it to the library without finishing it (I did skim the end a little). The writing irritated me, the characters were uninteresting and the plot negligible. Everything was just too cutesy and I felt I was reading a book written for, and by, a 10 year old. Disappointing.

It was so good!! So was the song!!!

I LOVE Wicked. And I love that song!

Hi again! How was the show last night?

"It's time to try defying gravity
I think I'll try defying gravity
And you can't pull me down..."

LOL, Lisa! I have been having a SUPER hard time getting back into reading (taking me one WEEK to read ONE book, AG!) but hopefully after this weekend (last super busy weekend) I will be back on schedule. :)

Yes, go shopping, it's fun!! :)

Boy! You two are way too talkative for me. Can hardly handle it! LOL

Still finding it hard to get back into the reading groove Jenn? Holidays can be distracting. I need to go shopping. :)

Hello Mrs. Pettyfer!

Hi. :)

I have not read in almost 2 weeks, but am almost caught up on my DVR, movies and Netflix - Yay!! Tomorrow I start reading again! :)

LOL! Aww man, just think how much fun a re-enactment of that would have been! Except that we wouldn't have been acting!

I didn't know you were reading Her Fearful Symmetry. I'm excited to read your review. Woohoo!

Surely you will find a second to read during NMW, right? :) I can't go to bed without reading, even if I just get one page in. Here's a good "I tried to read while traveling story"...

My sister lived in San Antonio for several years, and we visited for my dad's 50th bday. While there, we did a lot of partying around San Antonio, and one night she had a margarita party. Let's just say that Viola really enjoyed quite a few. When drunk Viola went to bed, she was determined, even though the room was spinning, to read herself to sleep like normal. Because the room was spinning, Viola had to try and read with only one eye open to keep her focus as the words were getting blurry. I vaguely remember this, but my sister recalls it better since she found me in bed with my book and one hand over one eye covering it up while squinting like crazy to focus with the other. Ahhh...to be in my twenties again! :)

I know, right? I'm thinking about all my due library books and how I won't have any time to read until Thanksgiving. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to drink a little more to make up for it.

Go you! Because you know we won't be getting much reading done this weekend. ^o^

112. The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley - 3.75 stars.

I quite enjoyed this one. There was a phase I was into a couple of years ago where everything about Queen Elizabeth (and The Tudors in general) fascinated me - Philippa Gregory novels, the Wives of King Henry VIII documentary and ANY Netflix movie I could find about that time period. This book took me back to that place. I love court and political intrigue of that time and these characters fit well into that period (knowing a little about the real life people helped put context into the story). The mystery was well played out, I just wish the romance was fleshed out a bit more. Fun little gem!

111. What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones - 3.5 stars.

Very quick read, just like it's predecesor, What My Mother Doesn't Know, and just as enjoyable. Sophie and Robin both seem very real and sympathetic and I loved getting Robin's point of view this time. Of course, lots of fixation on S-E-X, but I guess that's all that's on the brain at that age. Overall, a sweet story.

110. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger - 3.5 stars.

*Slight Spoilers*

This book was a bag of mixed results for me. On one hand, I enjoyed the general outline/plot, most of the characters, and the slow buildup of suspense and gothic atmosphere. Having not read many ghost books before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect or where it was going at times. On the downside, the slow progression often times felt reeeeeaaaaaalllly slow, the two sets of twins were not all that likeable (in particular Valentina and Elspeth by the end of the book) and the "twist" re Edie and Elspeth was pretty ridiculous and even a bit confusing. Also, Elspeth's actions near the end were telegraphed a mile away and after a bit of thought, pretty disgusting. Motivations for characters were not always fully explained, which made their actions either unbelievable and in one case, even unforgivable.

The more I think about this book, the less I like it. 3 stars.

Oh no. More problems than that? Crap. I am definitely waiting on that one. I have to finish BC so I can also finish your Miach trilogy. This seems to be MUCH more fun that the Luxe stuff.

Gosh, if only that was the only problem! (Killing off beloved characters.)

So, in Splendor, does she reincarnate all the people she got rid of? That would make me happy. :)

Also reviewed the 4th Luxe book, Splendor.