This was fun. I actually had to stop myself from starting the next book in the series right away. I knew if I started, I would have trouble with the other seven books in the series.

My friend Kathrin recommended this series to me after I lamented the Song of Fire & Ice series did not have enough dragons. This series definitely has dragons.

This book is like the Master & Commander, Horatio Hornblower books except instead of ships, there are dragons. It’s set in the Napoleonic war and offers an alternate history. Again, with dragons! They talk and are faithful to their one handler or human. The relationship between Temeraire and Laurence resembles something like lovers or child/parent. It is unique.

There are not a lot female characters in this book which makes me a bit sad, but I hope there are more interactions with those that remain. I do like how noble Laurence the protagonist is. He’s very much like Horatio Hornblower. However, he needs characters to shake him loose and a well developed romantic interest.

All in all, I’m really glad to have been recommended this series. It will help with the reading rut I’ve had this year and give me good holiday reading.

Definitely recommended for “light” fantasy lovers and those who enjoy alternate history.

Read December 5-6, 2015.

This took me way too long to read. In fact, two months! I read other things in the meantime. I am the type of reader who prefers reading books in a couple of sittings because spreading it out will result in me being distracted by other things.

The book’s narrative did not help. The narratives switch between three characters and certain sections of the story are non-linear. None of the characters meet until the end of the novel which was frustrating, but it made me keep reading.

I have to say that I liked two of the characters. I adored one of them a lot and the writing in the book is good. I was frustrated at times with the narrative style, but I knew the ending would be well worth it.

I had an emotional reaction to the ending. This is a novel about the second world war and it reminded me The Book Thief which I also had a deep reaction too. However, I feel the ending frustrated me too because it took me so long to get to that point. The climax and ending shocked me in a way, and I felt sad by it.

The book is good and I’ll definitely remember my fondness for one of the characters. I do wonder if the timing of the book affected how I felt about it. All in all, I have mixed feelings on it. I felt there was one or two high points about the book, but I’m not sure if the book also worked as well as it could have.

Read September 19-November 28, 2015 on Kindle.

I wish I could write like Marilynne Robinson.

Robinson’s works are internal. Not just in terms of the character’s inner lives and thoughts, but the setting. Gilead is the internal, spiritual workings of one man. Housekeeping has this surreal setting of home life and Home continues that setting. All of them have this focus on home life, house life, and the mind of the characters. She somehow captures what it is to be like an introvert so deftly.

I would even say it can almost be a bit clausterphobic how good she is with that isolation people often experience. In this novel, the moments between the family remembers felt almost too real as if I was watching real people talking together. It was very raw and incredibly candid that oddly, during one scene at the end, I wanted to look away.

Very few writers capture the rawness of emotions she does and in a way, the humanity of it especially with respect to the family dynamics. As usual, not much in way of plot happens, but I appreciate the amazing character writing.

Read October 18-20, 2015.

This was my first time reading Kinsella’s young adult work. I did not know that when I requested this book from the library. It took me awhile to get use to because I kept expecting Kinsella’s adult chicklit and romantic comedy style. However, I gradually began to warm to the characters and the writing.

There is definitely a cuteness to the dialogue and the romance that is typical of Kinsella’s style. I think she also captures the often unique and crazy antics of a family. The title and the young adult nature reminded me of the books by John Green, but less maudlin.

It’s a cute one sitting novel. I think I’ll stick more to Kinsella’s adult novels though.

Read October 17, 2015.

Another beguiling and gorgeous book from Neil Gaiman.

I enjoyed the fairy tale style and illustrations. I love the protagonist and her troop of Dwarves.

There is also a slight creepiness or darkness to Gaiman’s works which is really nice. It’s not over the top most of time and raises the stakes and suspense level. It makes it oddly realistic in a fantasy work.

It’s always a pleasure to read a Gaiman book.

Read October 17, 2015.

When reading this book, I saw the weaknesses with some of Rowling’s writing. Notably her overuse of certain words (in this case, I counted “salubrious” twice early on) and plot holes. I think her editor could have caught a couple of things. Though I do wonder because with big name authors, editors seem to be less open to suggesting things. In any case, these are minor quibbles.

The mystery was fine. I had an idea who the killer was early on, but Rowling kept throwing lots of red herrings on the way to throw me off. I am noticing that fame and envy are big themes in this series. Cormoran’s own life has themes of these with his family history and his relationship history.

I would like Cormoran more as a character even he did not spend so much time thinking about Charlotte. I don’t like the idea of Charlotte or any character whose primary physical appearance is “beautiful” or so attractive that she made heads turn. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I’m irked by Charlotte’s behavior. Thankfully she does not show up in this book at all and Cormoran shows more character development by getting over her.

I do like the supporting cast a lot and not just Robin. I like Cormoran’s childhood friends and his brother Al. I like Cormoran more when they are around them too. I can only take so much of the anti-hero stuff.

Looking forward to the next book.

Read September 27-29, 2015.