The Twelfth Enchantment, David Liss

I have read all of David Liss's books, even though the last few have disappointed, so I was excited to see that he had a new one out, and I think it was much more engaging than the last few.  However, this will be a bit of a shock to any readers of his very historic fiction who might be expecting more of the same.  He takes many liberties here that he does not with his usual work.

This story is much in keeping with modern inclinations regarding the supernatural, although set in the 19th century.  This is the story of Lucy Derrick, a woman caught in a very bad situation, battling undead with the help of men, both virtuous and not so much, and magic. It is the story of growing from a teen to an adult, and seeing the world less in black-and-white, and of coming into your own power.  Other reviewers have said it is very Jane Austeny, I myself found it to be very much along the veins of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell, by Susanna Clark - in fact, at times it read as if it could have been an excerpt from that book. (Another that I enjoyed very much.)

It started a little slow for me, then really got moving.  After about a third of the way in, I couldn't put it down.  I stayed up late into the night and then started right in again the next morning.  I had to keep reading until the final battle.

It gets four stars rather than five four a couple of reasons.  It was slow to get into.  The middle was great, but the ending left me a little disappointed.  A number of things there were left unfortunately unexplained.  And finally, while the motivations of the main characters were perfectly clear, the supporting cast often left the reader wondering why on earth they were making the choices they made.  

Overall, though, a recommended read.

The Map of Time, Felix de Palma

I wanted very much to like this book, but I found it a bit of a slog. There are three distinct, but related, stories to this tale of time travel. The first I enjoyed, the second, I did not, and the third never grabbed my attention. I was relieved when the book actually ended earlier than I expected. ( HG Wells' The Time Machine was appended onto the end so the actual story ended 300 or so e-pages before the page count of the book.)

Devoted time travel readers might enjoy this, and it does a nice job with the complications inherent in time travel - but really no better than an episode of Dr. Who.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

It says a lot that I finished this book last week and have already put it out of my mind.  This book was one where the reviews were fabulous, and the book did not thrill me.  This seems to happen a lot - I must have very different tastes than the critics or else they are all on the same wavelength, and I am not.  In any case, for this book, I was not the only one.  I have a friend who posted her great hatred of this book to Facebook, and while I did not hate it, I did not much enjoy it either.  And it never beckoned to me to keep reading.

This is the story of a woman around 40 who gets sent to the jungle to investigate what happened to her colleague and must therefore address unspoken issues in her past.  But much of the story is implausible at best and preposterous at worst.  Decisions and behaviors make no sense for the characters, especially towards the end.  Motivations are entirely unclear or unbelievable.  And overall, unmemorable.

The Last of the Sky Pirates, Edge Chronicles 5 -- by Colin

I recently read the fifth book in the Edge series, “The Last of the Sky Pirates” and it was AWESOME!  Rook Barkwater is a normal underlibrarian but somehow he gets chosen as a librarian elect, instead of his worthy friend. He then embarks on a great journey to study the wild, but, as we all know, the wild is dangerous. Who knows what awaits him?

One thing I liked about this book is how the character can seem to make friends in a minute. I know I like to read about a friendly character. Another thing I liked about this book is how the contraptions worked. When I saw a glider I knew that is would be possible for this to work and that I could make my own if I had the skill and supplies. A third thing I liked about this book is how there is a variety of new things. I have seen a variety of series that reuse so many villains but this series never does. In every book there are new fantastic creatures and people.  Over all “The Last of the Sky Pirates" is a great book!

The Return of the King, by Colin

I recently read Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is the third and final book in the LORD OF THE RINGS series. It is a thrilling fantasy adventure. Can the great cities survive The Storm? Can Sam save Frodo from the orcs? Will they save Middle Earth and destroy the Ring!? Thou shalt not know unless thou read thee book. One of the best things about the book was you never know what will happen next. Sometimes you don’t know everything about a rider. Other times characters swear service to a king without any real reason. The second thing I liked about this book is, as I went through the whole series, I discovered similarities between these creatures and other fantasy creatures. When my dad and I read through it we tried to find similarities between these creatures to World of Warcraft creatures. I even was able to find a similarity with two creatures that dad didn’t. The Return of the King was a epic book.

Monster Fish Frenzy, by Lauren

Wiley and Grampa’s Creature Features, Monster Fish Frenzy is great! I liked it because it’s funny and the story is interesting.  This book is about Grampa hunting Moby Fizz. Moby Fizz is a giant fish that swallowed Grampa and his stuffed animal when he was young. Grampa escaped when he sprayed carbon dioxide into Moby Fizz’s stomach making him burp. Grampa got out fine but Captain Froggy didn’t. While hunting for Moby Fizz, Wiley and Grampa run into many  challenges like hurricanes and Hans Lotion, master criminal. My favorite part is when Paco says something to Moby Fizz, the book doesn’t say what. Moby Fizz then goes into the water and burps up Captain Froggy, this part is crazy. I really liked this book and I hope you do to.

Bubba and the Dead Woman, C.L. Bevill

This book is exactly what you would expect from the title - a silly mystery involving a big Texan named Bubba (do Bubbas come in any size by XXL?) and the dead woman attributed to his actions.  I was very amused by this tale.  It kept me reading and kept me amused and I even occasionally had to read Dave a passage because I thought it was so funny.  Bubba is amusing, law enforcement in the small town is silly, Bubba's mother is a hoot, and you wish you got more of her.  Self-published, as an eBook on Amazon, it is a light, fluffy, fun, summer read.  It's even free.   And, of course, Bubba didn't do it - but the reader never thought he did - so that's not a spoiler.