Things have taken quite a turn, and it's completely different from the anime storyline. I'm loving it!

Ah, I'm so happy with this ending! I love every second of it!

In Ancient Greece, three queens come to plea with King Theseus and Queen Hippolyta to avenge the deaths of their three kingly husbands, who died at the hand of the evil tyrant Creon. Theseus agrees to go to war against Creon.

In Creon's army are two cousins, Palamon and Arcite, who are noble of heart, and do not agree with the tyrannous methods of Creon, but they are honor-bound to fight for Creon, and are taken as prisoners in the war.

While imprisoned they both fall in love with the beautiful Emilia, sister to Queen Hippolyta, and these two cousins who were once so close begin a fight to the death over Emilia's hand. They escape prison, are caught fighting, and agree to a tournament for Emilia's hand in marriage.

The Greek gods are prominent in this play, and the characters offer up various prayers for how they want the tournament to end. The brilliant thing is that although they all pray to different gods for different outcomes, ALL their prayers are answered in one way or another. It's a genius little plot twist that makes the whole story come together.

I was astonished to see the difference in the cousins' behavior towards each other from before they see Emilia to afterwards. They are not just friendly, but closely bonded with one another. It reminded me of the book of I Samuel where it says that "the soul of David was knit to the soul of Jonathan." These two had grown up together, been through many battles together, laughed and cried together for years. Their kindness and selfless care for each other was so strong in the beginning.
Then the insta-love happened, and they are immediately at each other's throats, calling each other names, and threatening all sorts of violence. But they do it in the name of honor, and still treat each other with a degree of respect due to their nobility of heart. They embrace one another for the last time before they fight, with expressions of regret at losing a close relative and friend.

I think I would have liked it better if they had struggled a little more with choosing between their friendship and their lady love, instead of immediately arguing about it. But still they are beautifully complex characters with wonderful dialogue!

I liked Emilia's character a lot! She is upset that these two men are fighting over her, she regrets that her beauty has caused a rift between them, she pleads to King Theseus for mercy on their behalf. The best part though is that she has difficulty deciding which of the cousins she likes more, so she prays that the one who loves her best will win the fight and be her husband. Her character is womanly and gracious. I like how elegant and regal her personality is.

A wonderful play! I would love to see it performed.

This sweet little board book, told in rhyme, is all about what love means, what it looks like, and how it works. With adorable illustrations of a dog and mouse who care about each other and express their friendship and love, this book is perfect for a parent to read aloud to their child, or even for a gift to any loved one.

Love is smiling together. Love is fun and free. Love holds us together. Love makes us belong. Love wipes away tears. Love means sharing. The book tells these and many more with colorful pictures and rhymes that trip off the tongue.

The pictures are lovely, some are a little bittersweet, and some are so funny they made me laugh! I love the art style and the expressions of the dog and mouse. They really captured my attention and made me look closely.

A completely marvelous harbor summer on the beach, messing around with boats, camping out, fishing, surviving a hurricane, and of course catching a burglar or two. When the Cares spend their summer by the ocean, one thing is for certain, that the incomparable Edie will get into trouble in every chapter.

Edie is curious, resourceful, courageous, and has a deliciously rebellious and independent spirit. She is always generous and does her duty, but somehow trouble seems to follow her around. Her hilarious misconceptions about the world lead her into ridiculous situations, such as when she was certain that another Civil War must have started and the enemy were breaking into her house! Haha!

What I love most about Edie is that it never really occurs to her that she CAN'T do something. If she wants to go camping alone, she just goes out and does it. Although she is only ten years old, she never thinks of herself as incapable or too small or weak. Her belief in herself is what fuels the story.

I love the whole fabulous Cares family! Each member of the family has their own personality, their own voice, and their own brand of weirdness. They are all sort of strange and funny people with quirks and foibles strewn about everywhere.

Wonderfully written and endlessly entertaining! I can't wait to read more from this series!

I'm so disappointed in this book. The cover made it look wonderful, but the characters are two-dimensional, the story is trite, and the dialogue is boring. I read it all the way through, but it never really captured my attention or my emotions.

The only thing I liked was the magical world setting. The setting is from the Arabian Nights, with many characters, like Scheherzade, Aladdin, and Sinbad the Sailor, being reimagined.

Many of the plot points were difficult to believe, too coincidental, or downright stupid. When you name a roc (mythical bird), do you really have to name it "Roco"? Seriously?
The writing is stiff and has too many boring descriptors, not to mention mixed metaphors.
I'm not impressed with this one.

This was upsetting to read because the story focuses on a princess who is beaten and raped by her own father, runs away to survive a harsh winter alone in the mountains, where she is assisted by the magical Moon Lady, who gives her a dress made of deerskin. The dark subject material is handled well, because the princess eventually confronts her attacker and finds some emotional healing, but it's rough reading about all that pain and abuse.

Usually I love this author's books, but this one was not enjoyable because of the subject material. Her writing style is excellent, but there were many redundant paragraphs and too many details, which made the story slow.

This book is charming and cute, but I am not a "dog" person, so most of it was bleh for me. If you love dogs, then you would love this story!

The story is wholesome and sweet, but there are many grammatical errors that had me cringing. When you say "He waked up" instead of "He woke up", I'm definitely judging you.

The plot itself is interesting and fun, full of little adventures, but it's also very predictable and obvious.