I was really surprised that I loved this book! I can't wait to read the rest of the series. There are some bits of the writing that calls attention away from the story, when the narrator addresses the reader directly. I didn't like that, because it distracted from the story, but the rest of it was fantastic. Devoured it in one day!

I loved this last book in the trilogy so much! The plot really surprised me, and I loved the new characters and old.
In this book, Petra is still on a quest to save her father from the evil Prince of Bohemia, and naturally Tomik and Neel are along for the ride.
My favorite character is still Astrophil, the tin spider with a big brain and an even bigger heart.
Once again, John Dee makes an appearance, and of course intrigue and spying and political machinations follow in his wake.

The stakes are definitely higher in this book, with assassinations going on all over the place and various thrones of various countries up for grabs. Petra has some tough choices to make, not only in her personal friendships, but also in deciding how much she is really willing to sacrifice to achieve peace for her country and the people she loves.

I loved that the romance is very minimal in all these books, but it IS there and adds a little spice to the story.
All the characters are so diverse and interesting, each with a different personality and voice. They are all dashing and brave and wild! I got really attached to some of them, and then the emotions started coming out, and I was gasping and clutching the book every time MY characters were in danger or doing something stupid. I love a book that pulls you in like that!

I had no idea where some of these plot twists were going, and I was completely surprised by all the wild places Petra ends up in.
I love this entire series! Wonderful adventures with sweet characters and snappy dialogue!

This story is all over the place, but I loved the random plot and the clueless characters! I can't figure out if it's a hilarious tragedy or a dark comedy, but I was certainly never bored.

In this play, King Leontes is suddenly struck with the erroneous belief that his wife, Hermione, is cheating on him with his childhood friend, King Polixenes. He descends into a form of madness, trying to assassinate his friend, publicly accusing his wife of being unfaithful, and sentencing his actual child (who he believes to be illegitimate) to death by exposure in the wilderness. And of course, all sorts of trouble ensues, because he has angered the god Apollo, who predicts that he will never have an heir to his throne until he finds his lost daughter again, who did not die of exposure.

This play has the famous stage direction "Exit, pursued by a bear", and I had to read that twice and then read the next few paragraphs, and then go back and read it again before I could really take it in. Yes, this guy was mauled by bear. He is dead. From a bear attack. So, that happened. Off stage, but it happened.

I loved how Queen Hermione is so upright and full of the fire of wronged innocence. Her speeches at her trial were quite moving.

Leontes was nutso for the entire play. Whether he was imagining traitors and assassins around every corner, or whether he was mourning the loss of his family and repenting, he was just crazy. He has a line where he laments that he is a feather blown about on every wind, and that is definitely a good description. That guy has no clue what is going on or what he is doing. He either won't listen to good council and does whatever fool thing he wants to do, or he lets people boss him around. Apparently, there is no middle ground and no logic to it.

Paulina, the Queen's noblewoman friend, is a formidable woman. She strides right in and takes control and bosses everyone to within an inch of their lives! Oh, I loved her! haha! She has some really strong dialogue, and I could just see in my mind this tall commanding woman with a look of fierce pride in her eye. She is a delight.

I wish that Perdita, the little lost princess, had more dialogue. She mostly opens her mouth to agree with something her princely sweetheart has said. Other than that, she appears to stand around looking pretty and talking about flowers. Ah well, we can't all be Paulinas, I suppose.

I was disappointed that most of the action at the end takes place off-stage, and is then reported to the audience via dialogue. Boring! I wanted the action; I wanted to see the actual reunion moment that I was waiting for the entire play!

And then there was the statue thing. A statue magically comes to life, or was it just a person disguised as a statue when actually they had been hiding out for years pretending to be dead? Either way, it's pretty messed up, because why would you wait 16 years and torture your family members who are grieving over you?! And if you really are a statue magically come to life, that's just creepy. Shakespeare leaves it as a mystery.

Autolycus is a con-man peddler who is prominent in the middle of the play, sticking his nose into other people's business while picking their pockets. Usually this is the type of character that people love, because of the comedic funny lines, but I hate this kind of character. He gets on my nerves, and even though his meddling turned out well in the end, I hate those rascally knaves with their non-existent morals and self-centered plotting.

A wonderful play with lots of different aspects, moods, and a jumping plot!

This classic tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene, a young farm owner, and the three men who are in love with her. She has to make some difficult choices, some of which bring tragedy to her life, but ultimately she finds true love.

As with most classics, there is a lot of setup in the first chapters, but once the story gets going, it really moves along! Towards the middle and end, I was gasping and crying and laughing my head off. It's definitely a wild story at times, and so brilliantly written.

Hardy has a reputation for writing depressing stuff, and there were some terrible depressing scenes that had me crying and horrified. But the ending is happy, so I was buoyed up again.

The language is clear and easy to understand, although certainly in a formal style like you would expect from a classic book. Hardy's writing has this subtlety to it that sneaks in around your mind and heart with little details, and then the plot clamps down and his writing is so forceful that it takes your breath away. He leads up to any bits of action with drawn-out dialogue and description and explanations of everybody's feeling and mindset, until the suspense has reached its peak. Then the action flies out at you like startled birds! Such brilliant writing!

I loved Bathsheba's character. She is "wayward" and independent and warm-hearted. She makes the most terrible mistakes and spends the whole book regretting them, but they are innocent mistakes. She has a silly streak in her that is all covered over with seriousness and the wish to be respected and admired. Truly, she only wants to be free, but everyone constructs cages around her.

Gabriel Oak is absolute perfection! He's kind and selfless. He has fortitude and strength of the internal kind. At first, I didn't know what to make of him, because he's awkward in social situations, and his dialogue is very straightforward. But through the story we begin to see his beautiful heart. I think what I love most about him is how capable he is. When there's a crisis, Gabriel knows what to do. When there's a problem, Gabriel has the answer. When everyone else shirks their work, Gabriel steps in to get the job done and he does it right. He is a fortress!

Farmer Boldwood is quite the interesting character. He runs hot or cold with no in-between. He seems to be stoic, and then flies into a passionate dialogue. I was mesmerized by his scenes! His voice is so original. His situation was made unique by virtue of his unique mind, his uncommon heart. He surprised me at every turn.

And then there's Sergeant Frank Troy, the rascal with a good(?) heart. He loves to gamble and loves to travel, and hates being pinned down to any sort of commitment. But oh, when he turns on that charm! Any female within 10 miles would melt into his arms. I never could make up my mind about him, even at the end. I loved him, pitied him, hated him, despised him, cursed him, and then pitied him again. He is a dazzling character!

I love the friendship between Bathsheba and Liddy! Two women who were most unlikely to be friends, but end up so close, and stick by one another through everything. Liddy is beautifully loyal and true. She's a kind soul.

I will definitely be reading more of Hardy!

3.5 stars
In this second May Bird book, May is fighting her way north to seek the help of the mysterious Lady of North Farm. With the help of her ghostly friends, May tries to find a way out of Ever After and back to the world of the living, but the evil tyrant, Bo Cleevil, is searching for her, and the only way out is to confront him directly.
Along the way, May and her crew meet friendly spirits, attend a few parties, sing a musical, and fight off zombies, evil ghouls, and goblins. They get frozen, half-drowned, turned into stone, imprisoned, and generally have some wild adventures.

Ever After is a creepy old place full of the dead, and I'm not usually a fan of ghost stories or Halloween-type stuff. But I really like this trilogy!

The characters grab onto your heart, and the plot is hilarious and interesting! The action just keeps coming, and I love the interactions and dialogue between May and her friends. You never quite know what shenanigans that crew is going to get up to!

May is a wonderful main character! She grows and changes and learns. She makes tough decisions and has regrets. She wants things that contradict each other. She wants to go home to Earth, but she also wants to stay and fight against Bo Cleevil. She's quirky and weird and beautiful!

I liked this second book much more than the first one, because by now I'm attached to the characters.