Review: Lost Tales of Mercia

Better late, then never! So here is Thursday’s review now!
Lost Tales of Mercia by Jayden Woods
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All right. Do I have to say it? It was a free book from B&N.

You can either get the “chapters” each in their own e-books, or get this one with all of them in it.

The individual chapters are not like in a normal book, They do not connect. They are rather stand alone little stories about each of the personages named in the titles. I rather liked the way the author gave you little glimpses of these peoples lives and it will leave you wanting more. So go ahead and put the other books “Eadric the Grasper” and “Godric the Kingslayer” also on your list!) Specially if you are a fan of medieval fiction!!!! These two books sort of pick up where “Lost tales” will leave you.

I did like the way the author was painting the picture of Mercia and Englalond. Very vivid and easy to imagine how it might have been. I read some of the chapters/books in one sitting. I really got into it and loved the feel these books conveyed!

Rather entertaining! Quick little reads for when you just want to tune out for a bit, but don’t feel like a whole novel!

I enjoyed reading this very much and have the other two books in this line already on my to read list!

Lost tales of Mercia is still free on B&N at the moment!

ETA: I have since read all of them and my review still stands for all!

Review: Winning the Wallflower: A Novella

Winning the Wallflower: A Novella by Eloisa James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What a silly little book! Certainly not correct in the details, but oh so funny written!
Sometimes I don’t mind a little incorrectness in a historical romance. So what if it isn’t accurate and the heroine blurts out some phrases that nobody back then would have understood? Does the story flow? Do you want to read just one more line? Then it’s a good book! Job well done!

I like romance novels now and again. I like them to be a bit steamy even. I LOVE historical romance novels. So when I stumbled across this one for free on B&N I thought why not? And it payed off with a delightful afternoon of “getting away” into another time and space. (It’s no longer free, but at $0.99 not a bad deal either)

If you can suspend your common sense and shut up the little voice in your head SCREAMING that this would NEVER have happened this way, then this little book is a hoot to read!

It was just plain fun and honestly: The love scene was HOT! I will certainly look for more by this author.
I won’t say more about the book, as it is really short (it’s only a Novella after all) and if I say one more sentence then I probably give it all away. Well really one can guess the outcome by the third page, but it doesn’t harm the story or the joy of reading. At least not in my opinion.

 

Review: A Bucket of Ashes

A Bucket of Ashes by P.B. Ryan
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Wow.. So this is how it ends.

I was so happy with this series all the way that I got absolutely blind-sided by this book!

I have to admit: I skipped a few pages in this one! I skipped a few a lot of pages in this one. I still got the gist of it.

I did not skip pages because I didn’t like the book! I think the reason was that there were more words than were necessary on some of the pages. I do like descriptive writing, but sometimes you just have to get on with it!

I do understand the need to bring readers up to speed on things that happened earlier in the series, if they happen to have skipped those books. If it is too much “reminiscing” though then it gets boring and redundant for the faithful readers that read them all cover to cover. That is all.
Since really all of the books in this series were rather great, I am very willing to forgive this little bit of annoyance.

The Mystery part was really shallow! I get the whole “working through your feelings” bit with Nell’s leftover family. I thought it was necessary to her character. Although I do think it was not necessary to kill her brother off to bring it about.

After finding out Nell’s “situation” I wasn’t really interested in the mystery at all any more. I just wanted to find out how she would handle it. Well, she refused to until the end and even then we got sort of cheated out of it.

I didn’t like how neat the whole Duncan thing got resolved! It was just a bit too convenient!

The whole part with the “newspaper clipping” thing at the end was a bit trite.

The whole book felt like Mrs. Ryan just wanted to get it over with, have Nell taken care of in the end.

I didn’t like that Will’s excuse for being a cad was Nell being still married! It just did not fit in with his heroic character. His devil-may-care attitude, his possessiveness, his unconventional behaviour. Through out the series, he became more and more of a user. He used Nell for what he wanted. Then in the end, he makes it “all right” by.. gosh better not say anything about that or spoil it.

I am not opposed to happily ever after! Not in the least! I like it! I wish life was sometimes more like it!
Bucket full of ashes had a cheap, rushed ending that left me feeling like I had a bucket full of too sweet candy!

Sorry, Mrs. Ryan. I know you put a lot of work into this one, just like your other books and I may be too harsh, or overly judgemental, but I just can’t find much good about this one!

I am rather in a forgiving mood about it though and will certainly read more books by you! I just know that this was maybe just a fluke! Can’t hit a home-run every time, right?

 

Review: Murder In the North End

Murder In the North End by P.B. Ryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Soooooo, here we are at the second to last book in the series up to date!

It was slow going in the beginning, but once it picked up speed (towards the end of the book) you can’t put it down!

The research was superb, as we are used to from Mrs. Ryan! The mystery was not an easy one to crack and I did like the descriptions of the poor side of Boston.

I loved what happened between Nell and Will in the end, although I did not like how Will handled it in the end. It was all a bit cowardly of him I think.
I was quite cross with him for it!
*after reading the last book in the series: Ok this had to happen this way! I see now why. )

I am writing this review a bit late (after I read the last book in the series) I usually don’t do that. I write them when the feelings are still fresh and I remember it all still in pictures rather than words. It’s hard to write it with this much distance to it. Books are full of emotions and images that need to be reviews right away. I promise not to wait this long again!

All I can say now is: if you have come this far in the series, read this book as well! You won’t regret it!

 

Review: Wolf Hall: A Novel

Wolf Hall: A Novel by Hilary Mantel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

OHGODIMADEITTHROUGH!

I swear at times I thought I might go insane before I read it all the way. NEVER THE LESS: I liked it! I am amazed at myself for actually saying that!

I hated it when I read it at times. HATED IT! I hated the use of “he” for Cromwell. It did make parts of the book VERY CONFUSING.

I loved the voice the author gave Cromwell! I LOVED that she stepped out of the norm and looked at the person and tried to make him look normal! I liked that you could sympathise with him!

I read a lot of historical non-fiction, so I was well-informed about Cromwell’s doings. I have often wondered if he really was such a horrid man, or if most of the blame taken by him should be laid at Henry’s feet instead? Did he really commit these monstrosities out of his own volition, or did he follow orders?

This book allows the reader to see him from a different perspective then we are used to from history! It is refreshing! It is food for thought! I love that about a book!

Of course, there is certain artistic license as with all good fiction. It fits in though and I was happy to let go of my critical mind for a while and enjoy the parts that did not infuriate me!

Toward the end I started to skip pages. And I thought the end was a bit abrupt. Maybe if I would have read every page, I would have figured out the end was nigh, but I read a few of the pages following the book and thought this isn’t making any sense any more now, before I figured the book was over.

A great book will leave you with this empty place just above your stomach after you are done! It will feel, as if a good friend moved away.
This book made me sigh in relieve and be proud of myself for making it through with minimal sighing and groaning and grumbling and complaining and procrastinating…

I am congratulating myself on finishing it. It was one of my “must read before I die” books… It also made re-evaluate this list!

Long story short: it’s not a bad book, IF you have the time to spare. It is dry at times and really, really boring! I still think it should be read. It deserves one star, but five would be just as right. This is rather contradictory, I understand, but read the book and it will make perfect sense!

Review: Eye of the Witch

Hey guys! I’m a bit late in posting today.. It’s crazy here at the moment with all the projects and classes and knitting and writing for the classes!!! I promise I do an update soon with pictures! Maybe this weekend? But I HAVE to get to a certain point in the shawl, before I have time to spend on taking pictures.. well and before I have something to show really hahahaha….But now on to the Thursday book review!
Eye of the Witch by Dana Donovan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Again, as you are used to by now, this was a free book from B&N.
I was thinking about reading it at all, since it is the second in the series and usually you get a bunch of references to the one that went before. Sometimes that really annoys me about a series of books. I understand why authors do it though.It’s not really so bad in this book though! YAYY

It was a bit slow to start, but once it got going it was really a great read.
I liked the relationship the detective had with the witch. So wonderfully abrasive, yet they do sort of like each other. I adore the ending!!!!
The murders made to look like suicides and the way the detectives solve it all in the end. I just loved it all. Once you let go and really give in to the paranormal happenings of the book it will get you hooked!

If you like murder mysteries and the paranormal, you WILL like this one, I promise!

I will definitely try and read the other books in this series!

This one is still free as of today!

View all my reviews

Review: Cast On, Bind Off: 54 Step-by-Step Methods

Cast On, Bind Off: 54 Step-by-Step Methods by Leslie Ann Bestor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First off, let me say Welcome to all the new readers here! I am so happy to see you! If you come on by as part of the Storey Publishing book tour, I am thrilled to have you over!  It’s such fun to be part of this  tour and introduce this wonderful book to you!

Now let me start at the beginning!

A while ago, I was asked if I wanted to review a knitting book.
Well, those of you who know me, know that I am not big on knitting books, or magazines.  I said yes regardless and told myself to be open minded and have a look.

Then cast on bind off came into my life…..

I have to say: WOW!
Here is FINALLY a knitting book worth it’s money! I absolutely love it!
Ok, so after knitting for 30 plus years, I knew almost all of the techniques described in the book, BUT do I really use them? uh… that would be a big fat NO!
I have my “go-to” ones. The ones I am used to and comfortable with.
Well SHAME ON ME!
Now, I’m not saying that having a “go-to”, a “staple” is a bad thing. It most certainly is not! But there are so many more possibilities out there and I am not utilising them to the fullest, because I just don’t think of them!

I keep cast on bind off right next to my knitting chair! I have used it ever since it came into my house! I am consulting it for every new project! Is there a better way to cast on for this? Is there a more fun way? You betcha!

I have used the tubular cast on for a new pattern I am writing on, instead of my tried and true knitted cast on and I have to say: I am thrilled I did!

I would recommend this book to novice knitters as well as experienced ones. It’s never a bad thing to have a little reminder that there is so much more then what is stored in our brains!

I also love the compact form! It fits neatly into my knitting bag and I have taken it to my LYS for the classes I teach. I showed it to my students and to other knitting friends. We all love it!

The pictures are clear and easy to understand instructions guarantee that even beginners will understand the cast on’s and bind off’s and can repeat them with success.
The little spiral binding is GREAT! I can flip to the page I need and turn it out without worrying that I break a spine and all the pages will fall out.

The only thing I have a problem with (and it’s not just me) are the little inserts with the “right side and wrong side” picture of the cast on/bind off. I had a bit of trouble figuring out if it was a seamed sample, or what exactly it was supposed to be. I think it would have been better to just do two different shots of this instead of folding the knitted piece the way it is in those pictures. They are just too small to see it well and one part is always dark.

See what I mean?

I really really recommend this book to ANY knitter! Never mind the level of experience! I will definitely take it to my classes and tell my students this is a must have for their library!

Do check it out and see for yourself! But do it in a yarn shop, or a book shop, instead of the library, because once you have looked at it, you WILL want to buy it!

Leslie Ann and her publicist have agreed to send a copy of the book to one lucky reader of my blog!!!! Don’t be shy! Just leave a comment here, telling me about your go-to cast on or bind off. Why do you use it? Who taught you that specific method?

(you could also subscribe to my blog while you’re at it, or like my facebook… but no pressure there. It won’t matter for the giveaway!)

I will leave the giveaway open until Friday next (7/20/12) so you have plenty of time to enter! Well, there you have it! GO GET IT!

If you don’t win here, there is an entire blog tour with more chances to snag a copy!  Here is the schedule, so you can hop along!

1. 7/9         Picnic Knits
2. 7/10       Knit and Tonic
3. 7/11       Zeneedle
4. 7/12       Rambling Designs
5. 7/13       The Knit Girllls
6. 7/14       Neo Knits
7. 7/15       Knit & Nosh
8. 7/16       Knitting at Large
9. 7/17       Rebecca Danger
10. 7/18       Lapdog Creations
11. 7/19       Nutmeg Knitter
12. 7/20       Yarnagogo
13. 7/21       Weekend Knitter
14. 7/22       knitgrrl
15. 7/23       It’s a Purl, Man
16. 7/24       Whip Up
17. 7/25       Knitspot
18. 7/26       Under the Humble Moon
19. 7/27       Knitting Daily
20. 7/28       Knitting School Dropout
21. 7/29       Hugs for Your Head

Review: Murder on Black Friday

Murder on Black Friday by P.B. Ryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The fourth book in the Nell Sweeny Series. I’m *still* in love!

I hope Nell’s “ex-” husband gets taken out! I really really want her to be happy and as long as that guy is still bouncing around, that won’t be possible!

I love where Will and Nell’s relationship is going! I love how they take their time. I ADORED how such a small moment can have SUCH an impact!!!! I loved how sexy and intimate and wonderful it all was, despite being just such a small second in a lifetime! Mrs. Ryan, THANK YOU! WELL WRITTEN! It gave me goose bumps!!!!

Ok I am getting redundant here, but I LOVED the mystery! I had no clue until the end whodunit! I sort of had an inkling, I “thought” I had figured it out and then Mrs. Ryan throws a curve ball and wow….

No, I am not going to say more! You will have to read it for yourselves! It’s worth it, in my opinion!

Start with the first book in the series and work your way up! You will not be disappointed! Very well researched, very well written, very entertaining! Worth the money! (and I am a Scrooge! hahahaha)

View all my reviews

Review: The Greatest Knight

The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yep.. you guessed it! I got this free as a Free Friday offer from B&N….it’s back to around $10 at the moment though…

This is the story of William Marshal, a knight at the court of King Henry II and his estranged Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.

THIS IS HISTORICAL FICTION! I get so tired of people lamenting on about how inaccurate this is.. It’s a Novel for crying out loud! It’s fiction. It’s a story.. it does not have to be accurate to a T! I for one liked it purely for the entertainment value. It gave me a nice read, about knights and their ladies and jousting and took me in a time long gone. SO what if William Marshall’s life did not exactly play out like it was written in this book? it does not make it a bad book. (and yes, I am aware that Marshall was not his name as much as a title given to him…)

A few parts were a bit long drawn out. None the less, it was an enjoyable read.

Again: If you are looking for historical facts, you may want to skip this one. If you are looking for a fun and interesting novel, just for the fun of reading something different, then go ahead and plunge right in, you won’t regret it.

Review: Candlelight Wish

Candlelight Wish by Janice Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! It was a sweet little read in between the Tudor Tombs I have my nose buried in right now.
Sweet, funny and entertaining. Yes, predictable at times, but the characters were so thoroughly likeable, it did not matter.

If you are looking for a fluffy little read without being boring and trivial, something in between, something just to take your mind off things and entertain you for a few hours, then this book is for you!

I loved the characters. The cat was a charming addition, The story was nice and straight forward. A PERFECT little read for the romantic in me, without being all graphic in that department(not that I don’t like a nice juicy romance novel now and again…).

I will definitely check out more books by this author. In between deep reading, a fluffy little book like this is just what the librarian ordered!

If you are looking for a “vacation read” something to take on a long drive, or for in the waiting rooms (in case you are not a knitter, or crocheter) then this book will definitely fit the bill! Take a bit of magic and sprinkle it across your spare hours! I recommend it!