A light and entertaining read. It read pretty quickly and really seems to be a good freshman novel from Lauren Graham. The last third of the book was actually the best, but… there just didn’t seem to be enough substance and the ending, while somewhat rewarding, seem to leave off in a unfortunate spot. I could’ve used a lot more.

It's still keeping me tightly attentive. Second books in trilogies often start to cause the series to lose some steam. Not the case here. Nope. This one...I thought I had it somewhat figured out. I thought I knew what was coming. I was wrong. And it was great. Barreling into book number three...

The first third of the book was fairly confusing for me and it took me a bit to get the gist of both what was being written and what was going on. But...it was good enough to keep me going and it was worth it. A good, though not overly complicated story. It was very different from anything I've ever read and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I will definitely be reading more by Melina Marchetta.

Meh. That's about all I can muster for this one. There is a lot of musical history, so maybe those who are highly musically inclined would find this more interesting, but for me it just seemed a bit of a whiny tale of a man who has been dumped. Rob is not a super likable character. At least he wasn't for me. He was whiny and fairly dull, not to mention overly clingy. The story itself just kind of droned on. It wasn't offensive in any way, but it wasn't gripping in any way either. I honestly probably should have just put this one in the DNF pile, but my stubbornness meant that I push my way to the lackluster end. Like I said...meh.

I really enjoyed du Maurier's writing. She writes in a way that feels so much older than the time period presented in the novel while still remaining relatable and energetic. This is a classic that doesn't drag. The characters are rich and fully fledged and the storyline moves quite well. The only downside is the intermittently overly florid language...du Maurier does tend to overdo her nature descriptions on occasion. The ending was a bit sudden, which (because the ending is always the determinant for me) resulted in knocking this one down from a 5-star to 4-star rating. Overall though, a very good read.

If you've seen the movie, you pretty much know this book inside and out. This has to be one of the most closely followed plots I've ever read/watched. In a way, that kept this from being a 5-star rating for me, but I still very much enjoy the story and I still looked forward to picking it up every night...even though I knew what was going to happen. It's like having a really good reread.

Another movie inspired read. This one didn't feel like it mirrored the movie quite as close as I would have expected, but it's also been a long time since I watched the movie. This probably worked to the book's benefit. It's a good read with a good premise. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in a lackluster ending that frustrated me after the reading investment I had put in.

This was a wonderfully fantastic read. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I was still very much entertained. Caraval is a smooth and easy read that I finished in just a few short days. There were a few small things that felt mildly juvenile in the writing, but they were minor issues that only snagged me up for a moment. Overall, I was very pleased and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Not a bad Little Red Riding Hood retelling. A pretty light read (all things considered) with a mildly predictable story line. I will give some props to the author for throwing me off the scent (pun mildly intended) when I thought I had it all figured out. (I did, but a few bits of her narrative made me convince myself that I was wrong.) All in all, I read this one quick and have no regrets for the fact that it landed on my reading list.

This was seriously painful to read. Classic? Okay, fine. But I still found it crummy. I don't need any philosophical baloney in my TBR pile. I really nearly DNF'd this one, but held out simply so I could check it off a couple of my challenge lists. Thank goodness it was short. Unless you're a philosophy major or enjoy torturing yourself with existentialist jibber-jabber, skip this one.