bandherbooks's Reviews (3.65k)

Amy has Cerebral Palsy and relies on computer to give her a voice. Matthew has undiagnosed OCD and lives in fear that his actions will cause harm to others. When they are paired together at school (Matthew becomes Amy's student aide), they realize their weaknesses complement the others' strengths. A series of events causes hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and revelations as Amy and Matthew also navigate their growing feelings for each other.

Beautifully narrated by voice actor Rebecca Lowman, I enjoyed this tale but found it a big long and over wrought at times. The switches between Matthew and Amy's perspective meant a bit of repetition in the action of the story. I also didn't feel Matthew was very believable at times; he was almost "too perfect," especially for a teenage boy. I loved him, but I often was like, "really?"

But, still charming, sad, and a great story with non-traditional characters. Bravo!

I finished! Fiery Cross (Book 5) felt like a really lovely, well-written piece of fanfiction. I loved it, but I also found myself going, wait, what about the time traveling? What does it all MEAN?! Why am I constantly being bombarded with milky, leaky, lactating breasts?! There is LOTS of sexy time in this one, never a problem for me, and I enjoyed the parts with the Regulators and the militia, the constant medical interventions grew a bit tiresome and the overall lack of a central plot made me grow a bit tired at times.

I've heard through the rumor mill that A Breath of Snow and Ashes, the next in the series, will be worth every minute I've spent reading this one, but I'm going to take a wee break before starting it. I'm getting too close to not having any more to read!

Overall, a good addition to the universe, I'm just glad I'm not reading it without having the next book readily available.

Spoilers ahead for the rest of this review.

Spoiler

**Brianna is a breast feeding machine. I felt sad she was relegated to mostly mommy mode for this entire book, but she had some great moments teaching Roger to shoot, spending time with Jamie, and writing out her odd dreams.
**Bonnet - I don't CARE about you. Fuck you, you stupid rapist. I'm glad they shot your balls off, though I fear you will be back again.
**We get more indication that gemstones are significant, that the skull with silver fillings was a Native American man from 1968 who came back (to not early enough in time) to try and stop the tribes from crumbling under white settlement...interesting MORE PLEASE.
**Jemmy can time travel, but we don't yet know his paternity.
**Jocasta is a wily old lady, and there be gold in that tomb! French gold!
**Jamie, you've been mauled by a bear, a panther, and now survived a poisonous snake. Jeeez.
**I don't know if I believe all of the medical "miracles" that Claire has wrought, but they do make for interesting reading. Will someone please go back to the future and get some more penicillin? I can't believe she didn't bring a lot more with her, or a needle (or 100). Making a needle out of a cobra fang, really!?
**Ian is BAAACK, and so is Rollo!
**Stupid Laoghire. I hate you.
**Why did I have to wait to the last 100 pages to learn most of this information?

I adored this snapshot of WWII history and the Army Service Edition books. I never knew such a program existed, and I'm so pleased that the government, Army, and public believed books were a vital and essential part of the war effort, especially for soldiers.

Full review to come.
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Re-read 10 years after the first time, and just as fun, magical, and slightly scary as I remembered. Coville doesn't write down for his audience, and as an adult I was so happy to see the expansive vocabulary and slightly scary (drinking DRAGON'S BLOOD!! Horns piercing chests!!) elements.

I don't remember if I read the other books in this series as a kid, but I will definitely try and find them now.

My BFF and I were just talking about this - and I TOTALLY OWN IT!!!! YASSSS!

A sweeping, twisty, and mind bending experience. I tried (and failed) to read Cloud Atlas some years ago, but the plucky Holly Sykes pulled me through this amazing adventure. I often found myself wondering "Where the f*** is this going!?" and then being amazed a few sentences, then chapters, later. Mitchell does rotating points of view so well here, but I did have my favorites (Holly, Hugo, and Eddie's). I did not really enjoy Crispin's, and the denouement with the "bad guys" wasn't as satisfying as I hoped. This book took on a ton, and I wished the more sci-fi/mystical elements had more time, but I'm super happy I read this.

A super adorable collection of comics revolving around 9 year old Phoebe and her new best friend, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, a snotty, conceited, and amazing unicorn. Funny and poignant, a really great treat. I only wish this was more sequential, but I think it is perfect for the younger set. The Peter S Beagle introduction was very sweet as well, but the constant comparisons to Calvin and Hobbes (and that Phoebe might be BETTER) may be a little over wrought, especially since this is very, very new.

I guess I didn't review this beyond the star rating my first go around in 2013, but I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version narrated with elan by an Irish reader.

I'm impressed with the amount of world building, invented vocabulary, and the style of young Shannon's first novel. I'm intrigued to see more of the adventures of Paige Mahoney, dreamwalker.

So, while I'm scared as hell that The Bone Season series is slated for SEVEN BOOKS, I'm loving this series and I'm happy to be an early champion. Can't binge read everything people, and this series will be worth the ride. No spoilers in this review, but if you haven't read Book 1, The Bone Season, you may want to stop here.

Paige Mahoney, aided by Warden and a rag tag assortment of "Harlies," has escaped from the voyant penal colony Sheol I and the clutches of Nashira. Hoping to spread the word about the Emim and the Rephaim, Paige is foiled by her Mime Lord Jaxon Hall and forced to reenter the underground crime syndicate she was a part of prior to her imprisonment. The story flows for Paige's desire to warn the syndicate about the connection between SCION and the Rephaim and her need to stay protected from her own people, which means continuing to be Jaxon's mollisher and doing his bidding. Some gruesome murders, lots of training, and lots of beating up of poor Paige keep the story moving and super thrilling.

Focused more on the awesome Victorian-esque society of the syndicate and less on the ethereal world of the Rephaim, this is an exciting, bloody, and mystical installment. Warden does make appearances (never enough for me) but the scenes that include him sparkle. The climax is like whoa, and I can't wait (although I'll have to) to read more.

Thankfully, Mime Order includes beautiful maps of SCION London and a handy glossary of terms that help you sink right back into Shannon's world without too much problem. I did re-read Book 1 prior to starting this, and it definitely helped.

I don't even know how to review this book. It is a unique sparky, poignant tale about Etta and Otto and Russell and James (oh James), both in their youth and their sunset years. Etta is my hero. The narrative structure is unique, bouncing between the POVs of the characters and in time. Lyrical writing just sinks you in and I unfortunately finished this way to fast. It will be worth a re-read. Highly recommend.

I've read the available issues of Saga about five times over. This beautiful collected edition of the first three volumes is a must read/own/cherish copy for fans of BKV and Fiona Staples. Hell, for fans of amazing literature an art. A beautifully put together piece, and the inclusion of the "how an issue of Saga is put together" section at the back is a fascinating peek into the world of Graphic Novel production.

I can't stop recommending Saga, to everyone! I actually laid the Deluxe Edition out at a recent friends getaway weekend and everyone picked it up and read it. Amazing.