Taran has finally admitted his feeling for the Princess Eilonwy. The problem now is that he doesn't believe that his bloodlines are worthy of her. She is a princess after all, and he is but a lowly assistant pig keeper, a orphan that does not know where he really came from. So he sets of with the ever faithful Gurgi as his companion in a quest to find out who he is.

We are visited by several old friends from previous books in the series and introduced to a handful of new bad guys. I have to say the bad guys are getting better - or more badder? - as the series progresses and more and more inventive plans are needed to foil their plots.

Taran learns much about himself through his journey and learns some very important lessons along the way, with one of the most important being about who he really is. I loved the sorcerer, Morda. It seems all of man's faults are wrapped up quite nicely in one little package. Fflewddur returns with Llyan, such a wonderful friend that manages to save the day at least once. Kaw, the pesky crow shows us that help comes from the least likely places. And of course the faithful Gurgi, the best friend Taran could ever have is along for the ride.

I think this will have to be my favorite so far in the series. With just one more left, The High King, I can't wait to see how everything ends.

4/5

The Magic of Krynn is the first in a series of books with short stories about the lives of the characters in the previous two trilogies of DragonLance. Some of the stories are about the main characters (the Majere twins) and some give background to some of the more popular side characters that we grew to love as we read the earlier books. This is a set of short stories that can be read as a stand alone, but having read the previous books does enhance all the tales. The short novella at the end written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is a great story. We visit Caramon and his family, his wife and 5 kids. We get a small glimpse into how his life is effecting the relationship with his three sons as they become adults and go to have their own adventures.

My favorite story is probably the one about Tasslehoff Burrfoot, the curious kender who is incapable of fear. Hearing about one of his crazy little adventures is always a treat.

3.5/5

Finally...a look into Ash's boyfriend, Seth. While this book doesn't necessarily revolve around him, it takes a long, hard, honest look into the relationship between the Summer Queen and her mortal boyfriend. We see how complicated and frustrated both are with the situation. While is immortal, she lives knowing that Seth will age and die and she will be without him for the majority of her life. Seth is terrified of losing Ash to the emotions and needs of her Faery Summer Court, and especially her Summer King.

Seth must find a way to stay with Ash forever, but his options are incredibly limited. To top it all off, Bananach, a faery that craves nothing but war and chaos, has her hands in the pot stirring away, hoping to start an all out war between the factions. Seth finds himself stuck in the middle, being used as a pawn to further various courts desires. Will he make the correct decisions, or will he cause the devastating war that Bananach hopes for?

This volume of Melissa Marr's series was quite intense. Everyone is at everyone else's throats over something. We are also introduced to the High Court, the court that almost never fully leaves the Faery realm. All the characters are forced to make hard decisions, decisions that could effect the balance of things everywhere. I did get a little tired of hearing Seth and Ash complain about their mortal/immortal situation. We realize this upsets you, I don't want to hear about it every 20 pages or so. However. this series just keeps going strong and it sounds like there may be more to come. I certainly hope so!

4/5

This story takes place in a Southern town shortly after the Civil War...a town under Union occupation still. The hostilities between the Union army soldiers and the residents is high. That doesn't keep the mothers from trying to marry their daughters off to the ranking officers. With too few men, and too many women, the city is often referred to as a bride fair.

One young lady of marriage age is Maria Markham. Maria's two brothers and her fiance were killed in the war, and her father is quite ill. To help keep the house running they board the highest ranking Union officer in their house, a Colonel Max Woodard. Max has no nice feelings for the town. This is the town where he was kept as a prisoner of war, watching hundreds of his fellow soldiers die, nearly dieing himself. While Max is a fair leader, not allowing his men to take advantage of their situations, he holds no love for the town at all.

I loved the characters in this book. Max and Maria were both so hard headed about things, it reminded me of so many I know today. The prejudices on both sides were fascinating and added an element of danger to the story that was always lingering in the background. Reavis did a fantastic job of setting the stage for Max and Maria.

There were numerous twists and unexpected turns throughout that led up to a perfect ending. Not only must Max and Maria fight to find their own happiness, they are both fighting the strict customs and codes of the times. This would have to be one of my favorite romances so far.

4/5

This is the story of a woman's battle with depression. It started when she was in school and carried into her adult life. She has many wonderful stories of the people that helped, the people that hurt, and how she's emerged a happier person. Many of the things she said made so much sense I'm amazed that everyone didn't already know them. The tips she offers for people suffering from depression and well as well as the ones trying help that with depression, are wonderful. The only down side of this book for me was the constant references to Christianity. I know these may help many people, but as someone that doesn't practice any particular religion, they seemed a bit forced at time. Still a book a would recommend to anyone with depression or anyone that knows someone with depression.

4/5

What would happen to the human race if we lost all technology and went back to stone castles, handmade clothes, farming by hand? The people in The Sword show us. There has been a series of tragedies...a disease that wiped out most of the population....a nuclear war....climates gone haywire. A few scattered groups of people survive to rebuild their lives. One of these groups names their land Chiveis. Chiveis is a mostly happy land, surround by wilderness that none dare to enter. But Chiveis has lost the God of the ancients and now worship their own gods in their own way.

Then on day everything changes. It starts with a guardsman, a well known tournament champion, discovers a book of the ancients far from the borders of Chiveis. He brings this book back to share with his friends, Anastasia (a farmer's daughter), Maurice (his friend and mentor), and Shaphan (his student). This small group of people decide to bring the ancient's God back to Chiveis no matter what the cost.

This leads the group into quite a religious struggle with the High Priestess of the current religion who refuses to see a new religion that could potentially take some of her power from her. The group is attacked from without and faces betrayal from withing as they struggle to make sense of this new God and bring his truth to their world.

I loved this book, the plot, the character, the setting...everything. The characters are engaging and interesting. Their lives flow through a world that is well made, beautiful, and at times frightening. The struggles they endure and the choices they move the story forward is way that draws the reader even further in. I can't wait to see what the second book brings.

4.5/5

This book was received from the publisher as part of the librarything early review program in exchange for my review. My review expresses my honest opinion of the book.

Another series of short stories involving the world of Krynn, of which I have many of the series. A perfectly fine stand alone series, the stories are full of humor and adventure. The story Hearth Cat and Winter Wren is my favorite from this selection. Exploring the lives of adventurers as they are turned into animals while trying to save people from an evil wizard.

4/5

(minor spoilers if you haven't read the first book, The Luxe)

In the second book of the Luxe series we are focused a bit more on the younger Holland sister Diana. As society reels from Elizabeth's death and speculates on possible alternatives, Diana must grow up quickly to save the family. They are quickly running out of money and things to sell for money. Her best hope is to marry her sister's former fiance, Henry Schoonmaker, who is mourning for Elizabeth. But it isn't a simple as all that. Penelope Hayes, who played a part in Elizabeth's death/disappearance, has her eyes on Henry as well, and she is not afraid to use every underhanded trick she can think of to win him over.

Diana is a girl after my own heart. She mocks society and all it's silliness as she attempts to play along - if only for appearances sake. She loves Henry deeply and passionately, and prays for when it will be considered appropriate for them to leave mourning and become engaged. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Will have settled in California and are looking for oil when a letter from Diana causes enough concern for them to risk returning to New York to try and help, for Elizabeth's mother is quite ill and the financial situation is becoming even more dire.

Penelope is a very mean person (I'd like to use a different phrase, but my daughter reads this). While I respect her will to fight and do whatever it takes to get what she wants...I hate to see how she treats the people around her in order to get it.

This book moved a bit more slowly for me than the first in the series. There were many small details that became large ones and I'm hoping they are all made relevant in the third book. I'm far too attached to Diana to give up on her now and will be ordering the next in the series, Envy as soon I can.

3.5/5

Tehanu returns us to the world of Earthsea, to the time after the The Farthest Shore and The Tombs of Atuan. Tenar has grown older, had a family, and is now a widower when she received an urgentl from Sparrowhawk's former mentor Ogion, the mage that took her in when she first came to the area. As she journeys to her cottage we are introduced to the little girl Therru, marked by horrible tragedy and evil.

While at Ogion's cottage, Sparrowhawk returns to Tenar, but he returns scarred and damaged, missing part of himself. Tenar, Sparrowhawk, and little Therru make a life journey together to put the pieces of themselves back together and bring the work back to a better place.

This book was a fantastic read. it gave me what I've always wanted at the end of a series....just one more book. A book to show me how they ended up, what their family was like, and who would continue on after them. Tenar and Ged (also called Sparrowhawk), reunited after many years, are still the same characters I had grown to love in the earlier books. Only this time they are wiser, and will need to use all of their wisdom to help little Therru. Therru drew my sympathy from the start, and I admired her spirit and her tenacity to overcome her difficulties. This was a great addition to the Earthsea Cycle.

4/5

Miss Julia Bennett needs a husband...and quick. The published etiquette author has been given a chance to interview for a new column on the east coast...the only problem is that she's on the west coast and her father will not allow her to go until she is married. With the interview date looming before her, Julia tracks down her last chance, the bounty hunter Graham Corley.

Graham is a wandering man, a drifter - and nothing could surprise him more that Julia's outlandish proposition. A proposition to act as a fiance, even get married so that she can convince her father to allow her to travel back east. Neither quite know what they are really getting into when they agree to their strange bargain.

Julia is a priss...a priss of the worst sort. She is the person that quotes her own books - Miss Julia's Behavior Books - to people so they know how to act correctly. She is well educated and is seen as the odd one in her little town. Meeting Graham will shows her a side of herself that she doesn't realize exists, and even begins to enjoy. I began to truly enjoy her as she grows and throughout the story into a new and happier person.

Graham is you standard bounty hunter. He never stays anywhere longer than he must, and looks forward to his time on the road...until he meets Julia. He enjoys being able to tease her about her prim and proper ways and does everything he can to bring her out of her shell.

I enjoyed this story much more than I initially thought I would. I disliked the characters at first, but as they grew I began to like them very much, as does the town they live in.

3/5