This was heartbreaking, but so good. Historical fiction like I've never read before: a Vietnam vet returns to Vietnam and faces who he was during the war. An abandoned child of a Vietnamese woman and a US soldier tries to track down his parents. Ashes and redemption in ways you don't expect. Listen to the audio. 

The narrator is amazing.

I’m not even sure what to say here, except this little novella is delightful. A beautifully twisted retelling of sleeping beauty that I just couldn’t put down. T Kingfisher is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. 

Spoiler warning, but only if you don’t have any backstory of the Greek myths or the Trojan war. 

This book is an interesting retelling of the Trojan War from the perspective of Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s vengeful wife. The first half of the book slowly sets up the marriage of Helen to Menelaus and Clytemnestra to Agamemnon before it ever approaches Paris and Helen’s running off to trigger the war. The slow build has a lot more dialogue and bickering between the sisters as children and young women than I was expecting. It felt like the backstories of their childhood were dragging on too long, trying to compel the reader to empathize with the women and point out the misogyny of ancient Greece despite the strength of Spartan women. The author did that well, but often wandered into distracting details that takes the reader away from the point. 

In all, I really enjoyed the book and especially the story told from the perspective of the women left behind in Greece. I just would have liked it a little more sharply edited. Definitely an enjoyable and worthwhile read. 

This book was hilarious and nostalgic, especially wonderful as read by Cary Elwes and most of the cast of The Princess Bride. It’s a little choppy like an interview style documentary, but is highly entertaining for anyone who loves the movie and hearing all the behind the scenes details. 

My least favorite book by this author so far. I learned after I was mostly through this book that it was a writing exercise the author made to see if she could write a story in which the main characters were unlikable. Mission accomplished. It is fast moving and easy to read, but I found myself wanting to get through it more than actually wanting to read it. I’m not sorry I stuck with it, but I won’t be reading the sequel.

The octopus, Marcellus, as the narrator is such a touching and creative artistic choice. He’s maybe one of my favorite characters I’ve read all year. Also, though the plot and mystery were predictable, I found myself eagerly awaiting the reveal throughout the book. Also, I appreciate that the author did not labor on the misunderstanding trope. She showed a lot of respect for the reader in allowing the story to flow without artificially drawing out the mystery from the characters. Loved this sweet story.