book_nut's Reviews (2.91k)

Ack! Horrible. The less said about this book, the better. Trust me. And I didn't even finish it.

I read Liszt's Kiss by this author, and loved it for its musicality and passion. Unfortunately, neither of those were terribly strong in this book. However, it's a decent political thriller (set in 1790s Vienna) and adventure story. Liked the heroine, and how she managed to be assertive rather than waiting to be rescued. That worked for me.

A good historical romance and mystery that brought out the latent pianist in me.

I liked the book well enough, though I thought that the free verse was a bit annoying. The story is harsh and demanding, and powerful though. I just wasn't super-thrilled with the book itself.

Wanted to like it, but it was a mess. Stock characters, sob stories, diary entries, melodrama. Bleh.

An excellent retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale. Not perfect, but really very close.

I was very surprised at how much I liked this book. A series of short fables/folk tales in an easy reader/first chapter book, it was clever, fun, and quite engaging.

I liked this collection of travel essays -- there really wasn't a coherent theme, which bothered me at first. It's uneven: when Mayes was on, I felt like I was in the places she described, when she wasn't, I was bored. It's worth reading for the times she's on, though.

Honestly? I debated even accepting this book because I knew the subject matter -- man dealing with the kidnapping/murder of his child -- would be difficult to handle. And I was right. I think Curnutt did well in that everything was so blunt; nothing was hidden or sugar-coated. But it was a bit (!) difficult for me to stomach. I wanted to go and lock my children up and never let them outside again. I didn't want to see/know/feel anything that was being presented. It's not a happy book, or even a hopeful one, really. I was depressed reading it. But... that's all just me. It may be a good book; I am just not equipped to deal with it.

I liked the world that McKinley built in this one; it took me a bit to get into the characters, but I really liked Marisol, the Chalice of the title. The telling was circular; it took some involvement to decipher where in time you were are any given point. But that said, I think the narrative worked well, even if it was a bit detached. Not her best book, but a good one.