Rachel Kovaciny's Blog, page 30

"Bowdrie" by Louis L'Amour

Bowdrie is a collection of short stories about Texas Ranger Chick Bowdrie.  He's a sensible, intelligent, quick-witted Ranger who spends these eight short stories hunting down killers, thieves, and other bad guys in an calm and quiet way.  Several of the stories also have a surprise partway through where you think you know what mystery or crime Bowdrie is trying to solve, but then the narrative shifts and you discover he's after somebody else.  Which was pretty nifty.
You may remember that I abso...

"From These Dark Depths" by Vanessa Rasanen

Let me preface this review by saying that the middle section of a trilogy is nearly always my least-favorite part.  I will almost always love parts 1 and 3 of a trilogy, and part 2 will make me gnash my teeth.  The Two Towers?  My least-favorite LOTR section, both book and movie.  The Empire Strikes Back?  My least-favorite original Star Wars movie.  And so on.  I really like the recent trend toward duologies instead of trilogies because then we don't have that pesky middle section where I spend...

"Rose Petals and Snowflakes" by Kendra E. Ardnek

In retrospect, it kind of surprises me that I haven't read any Jane Austen + fairy tale retellings before.  The whole concept works so well!  Rose Petals and Snowflakes melds Austen's Sense and Sensibility with "Snow White and Rose Red," and it is completely charming.  I gobbled this up in two days!  And now I'm handing it off to my kids, all of whom love fantasy books, and all of whom are familiar with Sense and Sensibility, so I know they'll appreciate it fully.
Princess sisters Elinrose and Sn...

"Hamlet" (Manga Classics) by William Shakespeare (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Julien Choy (art)

There are two options to read this play in the Manga Classics series.  One is to read it in the original language, and the other is to read it in a more modern adaptation.  I chose the original language edition, so that's what I'm reviewing here.
This book is breathtaking.  The art is just gorgeous -- crisp and moody, atmospheric and alluring.  And the story is "staged" very nicely, suiting the actions to the words in ways that made the story come to life.  
Like the other Manga Classics I've read...

Austen in August -- Guest Post and Giveaway!!!

Oh my goodness, I don't know how posting about this has slipped through my fingers so often.  I'm guest posting this month at Roof Beam Reader in celebration of Austen in August!  My first post is up right here; it's a collection of my favorite Austen(ish) Books.  
(All pictures are mine from my Instagram account.)
And, as part of the fun, I'm hosting a giveaway over there.  What am I giving away?  A $20 gift card to Northanger Soapworks!  Yes.  It's true.  AND the giveaway ends at midnight Pacifi...

Cover Reveal for "A Flash of Magic" by Allison Tebo

Good morning, friends!  It's my pleasure to share the cover of Allison Tebo's latest with you this morning.

You may know Tebo as the author of The Goblin and the Dancer , which is her most publication.  But A Flash of Magic is actually part of her Tales of Ambia series, which started with The Reluctant Godfather  a few years ago.  The Tales of Ambia are quirky fairy tale retellings with lots of loveable, somewhat oddball characters.  Whereas the first three books in the series were novellas, A Flas...

"What Katy Did Next" by Susan Coolidge

The third Katy book just might be my favorite.  Seeing Katy being as kind and intelligent and capable as ever, but now more mature and less prone to get into scrapes -- that was absolutely a delight.
Now about twenty, Katy Carr helps out a family friend by taking care if her daughter for several weeks.  The daughter becomes very fond of Katy, so when the mother decides to go to Europe for a year, she asks Katy to come along.  Not as a nanny for the daughter, but only as a friend.
Katy has a series...

Announcing the TENTH Annual Tolkien Blog Party

Ten years.  Don't they go by in a blink.

TEN YEARS!  I can't believe I've been hosting this blog party for that long.  Wow.  A whole decade!  That sounds so exciting, doesn't it?

You are hereby invited to attend the tenth annual Tolkien Blog Party right here at The Edge of the Precipice.  From September 18 to 24, we will be feasting and playing and singing and dancing... or, at least, celebrating however it strikes our fancy.

I'll provide a tag to fill out, a couple of games, and the ever-popular g...

"Laertes" by Carly Stevens

This book.  Oh, this book!  Where do I even start?
Laertes retells Hamlet from the point of view of an often-overlooked character from the play, Ophelia's brother and Polonius's son, Laertes.  He's only onstage for the beginning and the end of the play, and many people kind of forget about him, except as that guy who has the sword fight with Hamlet at the end.  But I have long felt that Laertes is a key character in the play, especially the way he serves as a foil for Hamlet.  He and Hamlet both ...

Top Ten Tuesday: Go West, Young(ish) Woman! Go West!

This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt from That Artsy Reader Girl is "Books Set In a Place I’d Love to Visit," and can be about real or fictional places.  I'm choosing to focus on all books set in the Old West because I would LOVE to take a time-travel trip back to the Old West and experience it for myself, at least for a little while.  I'd probably want to return to a world of antibiotics and clean drinking water after a while, rather than live there forever, but a visit to any of these books?  Ye...