Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Rating: 6 out of 10
Summary: INTRODUCING THE ALPHA AND OMEGA NOVELS…

Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack… and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

My Thoughts: I’ve never been the biggest fan of Patricia Briggs. I’ve read some of her older stuff, didn’t like it, and tried her popular Mercy Thompson novels, but didn’t much like those either.

The summary for Cry Wolf sounded interesting, so I decided to give Briggs another go. I’m glad I did, because I liked this one a great deal better than her previous novels. I liked the heroine, Anna, and her main man, Charles. The progression was interesting and kept me entertained.

Generally a good read, not all that engrossing, but a nice way to spend a few hours.

A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson

Rating: 6 out of 10
Summary: After the Russian revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family, armed only with an outdated housekeeping manual and sheer determination.

Desperate to keep her past a secret, Anna is nearly overwhelmed by her new duties–not to mention her instant attraction to Rupert, the handsome Earl of Westerholme. To make matters worse, Rupert appears to be falling for her as well. As their attraction grows stronger, Anna finds it more and more difficult to keep her most dearly held secrets from unraveling. And then there’s the small matter of Rupert’s beautiful and nasty fiancée. . . .

My Thoughts: Eva Ibbotson is a fairly good writer. She’s a little on the “fantastical” side–some of the things that happen in her novels are a little hard to believe, but I think that contributes to the overall fairy-tale, perfect-world, happy-ending feeling, which sometimes you just need. I know it’s not realistic, and I know it could never happen in real life, but I just love that warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest that somewhere, somehow in some make-believe world, happily ever after is possible. Impossible, awesome coincidences are possible, and things just always work out right in the end. Sometimes you just need that.

A Countess Below Stairs gave me that. It was sweet and entertaining, and while I didn’t like it as much as I’ve liked other Ibbotson books, it was still a nice read.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Rating: 8 out of 10
Summary: In a world where people born with an extreme skill–called a Grace–are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po’s friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace–or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away… a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

My Thoughts: I read a lot of great things about this one before putting it on hold at my local library. I finally got it this week and it was just as good as everyone said it was!

Katsa, our heroine, was realistic and easy to relate to–I liked her immensely and I was quite sympathetic to her troubles and endeavors, and saw a bit of myself in her, which always helps. The premise and the world Cashore created was fabulous. Sort of like your quintessential pre-Industrial Revolution world where occasionally, some people are born with unusual talents, or Graces, that distinguish them from the rest of the population. These Graces can be as simple as a better-than-normal swimming ability, an unusual talent for baking delicious pastries, or in Katsa’s case, a talent for killing people. Katsa’s Grace contributes a lot to her character and her decision-making, and made for an interesting story.

I always like a good, well-formed plot with unexpected twists. Graceling had this, and I felt that the pacing and the way Cashore moved the story along was very well done. The romance subplot (acutally, it might be more than a little subplot) was nicely done, warm fuzzies all around, with an interesting dynamic that I haven’t read in romance before.

A great, adventurous read.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Rating: 7 out of 10
Summary: The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers’ attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Now, thanks to Hermione Granger’s new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” and of course, “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” But not only are they the equal of fairy tales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter. (from bn.com)

Commentary: This was a fun add-on to the series of Harry Potter. I really liked the commentary from Dumbledore, and the drawings by J.K. Rowling were fun. It was a little on the short side, but I liked how it expanded on the Harry Potter universe.

It just makes me sad that there will be no more Harry Potter books!

The Garden by Elsie V. Aidinoff

Rating: 7 out of 10
Summary: In the beginning …

There was the Serpent, there for Eve’s awakening, and for all the days since. Teacher, mentor, companion, friend, and more. There was God. The Creator. Quick to anger. Dangerous. Majestic.

There was Adam: as God said, a joy to behold.

And there was Eve.

These four hold the future in their hands. And only Eve — or perhaps the Serpent, too — wonders what lies outside the Garden of Eden. Passionate, witty, beautifully drawn, and utterly unforgettable, The Garden, a debut novel, remakes and offers insights into a story that forms a cornerstone of our understanding.

My Thoughts: I quite enjoyed this, but just a heads-up: if you’re anything close to religious (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) you might find this novel offensive and possibly sacrilegious.

This is a retelling of the Garden of Eden story, except with a few strange and interesting twists. The Serpent is not the evil, devious being we know from the Bible, but a kind, wise, and intelligent force who raises and teaches Eve everything there is to know about the world. From the moment Eve is first created, the Serpent teachers her things–her name, the names of the things around her, how she came to be here, and greater questions like What is evil?

I liked Eve–her childlike curiosity and interest in everything around her was fun. God in Aidinoff’s novel is capricious and temperamental, an obvious foil and counterpart to the wisdom and patience of the Serpent. The pacing was good and although there are mature and sometimes disturbing aspects to the novel, anyone with an open mind should be able to enjoy Aidinoff’s clear style. The Garden tackles a lot of issues such as free will, good and evil, and mortality. Many of the best parts came from the philosophical/question-and-answer dialogue between the Serpent and Eve.

“How did you like the parade, Eve?” asked the Serpent after awhile.

“It was fun to see the animals all trotting along and turning together. Especially the birds, though they often fly that way by themselves,” [said Eve].

“What did you like best?”

“The eagle. But God didn’t like the eagle at all. He said it was evil. What’s evil?”

“Evil is bad: the opposite of good.”

“Why is the eagle evil? Because it refused to fly the way God commanded?”

“God thinks the eagle is evil because it disobeyed him.”

“That’s what evil means? Disobeying God?”

“Well.” The Serpent sighed. “It’s one definition.”