Lisa’s Comments (group member since Aug 16, 2014)

Lisa’s comments from the Once Upon a Time... group.

Glad to see others joining in! Muggle, it would be awful to have my kindle crash, even though I have read the last two books in hardback, mine is still used on a daily basis. Hope it gets fixed soon, or you can get the book to finish it. Karla, I agree with you about the spindle end - it was a constant "character" of the book, and you just expect it to be around as you read, even though it doesn't seem important.

Totally agree with your spoiler, Heidi. I did like the world building, but that was also what made it a long read because it was so intricate. I loved Narl - the only thing that surprised me about him was his hair! I've wanted to read Beauty for a long time, but honestly after reading this one, I think I'll wait a good while longer to attempt another of McKinley's books.

I finally finished! I must admit that the reading got more interesting and quicker the closer I got to the end. I actually did stay up late last night to finish reading it. I don't know how to add and hide spoilers, so I try to be careful how I word comments. Anyway, the end was predictable, or at least that was what I certainly hoped would happen, but very little in the rest of the book was predictable at all. I think that might actually be why it seemed like such a long read. I really liked the idea of dualality and shadow sharing.

I am just starting Chapter 10, so have a good bit more to read. I am finding that the more I read, the better I like the book. I haven't felt like I was slogging through mud after the first chapter, but it is still a slow read. I admit that I don't have nearly enough time to read as I would like. Because of this, I often find myself staying up half the night on Friday or Saturday to read a book that I am intensely interested in. This one didn't keep me up this past weekend.

Well, I was able to read chapters 2 and 3 earlier today. They both went fairly quickly. I didn't feel like I was "slogging through mud" with those two chapters. BTW Diane, I love that description. It seems totally accurate for the way I felt with the first chapter. These two chapters were the introduction of Katriona (not sure if I spelled that name correctly right now) and I like her, although I feel there is a ton of building that needs to be done to actually establish her character well. At least these two chapters gave me hope that the book isn't going to be a total waste of time.

Was able to read chapter 1 this evening and it made me crazy. That was the longest, most drawn out chapter of any book I've ever read. Now I'm afraid the entire book will be as boring. :(

Just finished the other two books I was reading, so this one is next on the list. Hoping I don't find it too boring. If so, I'm going to be really disappointed in my choice!

I do agree with you in pretty much all aspects. Frankly, the setting could have been the same, just a different time frame (more recent) chosen and the tale would still work well. If that had been done, then the entire slavery issue would not have even needed to be addressed. I did like they way Sophie's sister confronted Bernard, but at the same time I found it rather two faced, since she was totally willing to "sell" her own sister for monetary gain.

Mine too! Picking it up tomorrow, but no chance to start reading it until the weekend probably.

Sorry for not commenting sooner. I finally finished this book Sunday night. I didn't find the aspect of the wives spirits unusual at all, in fact, it totally made sense to me that they wouldn't be able to rest peacefully and would want to somehow warn another potential victim. The only thing I would have found unusual is if each wife hadn't tried to warn the next victim prior to their marriage. I was actually satisfied how the issue of slavery was handled. At first it seemed too prominent, but as the story continued, although it was always an obvious aspect, it faded into the background of the main tale. The use of the hair to form a bracelet and part of the tapestry didn't make much sense to me. It was obvious from the beginning of the tale that Bernard chose red haired women, so the use of their hair just seemed like something that was just thrown in as an un-needed filler detail. All together, though, I am still surprised at how much I enjoyed this read.

I'm still not sure if Sophia actually enjoys the comfort of them, or just wears them to keep him in good humor.

Seriously! I can't imagine any woman purposely choosing to wear those clothes.

Understand exactly what you mean, Diane. Honestly, I just keep wondering why the tree roaches haven't made an appearance.

I am so far behind it's pathetic, but I am working on reading this book. I'm between 1/3 to 1/2 through it. I like the setting, it somehow seems fitting. The oppressive heat and humidity of southern Mississippi (we lived there for six months about 30 years ago) adds to the over-all feeling that there is going to be major discomfort and unhappiness for the characters. It was immediately apparent that Bluebeard had targeted Sophia from childhood, and that no matter how charming he could be, he would not accept any disagreement with his wishes. I am finding the whole slavery issue an interesting twist to the story, but at the same time, feel it is taking too much of a central part of the plot instead of just a side issue. With all that being said, I'm actually surprised that I am enjoying this read, as I have never cared for the Bluebeard tale.

Thanks, Heidi! I think we are all on the mend now finally.

Sorry - not much reading going on lately. We've had too much family sickness and activities. I'll get there!

It's in my "to read next" pile. I will probably start reading it Sunday.

Yeah, it is cool! I've used it multiple times. I'm in Maryland. We can borrow from any library in the county just by putting in a normal request. If there aren't any copies available in the county, as was the case this time - they only had one copy of the audiobook - then we use our library card to log into a system called Marina and it will show us all the copies that are available for request within the entire state. All we have to do then is tell them which branch we want the book delivered to for pick up and it takes about a week to arrive.