The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B Dunkle

For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from Hallow Hill, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have moved there with no idea of the land's dreadful heritage - until Marak decides to tell them himself. Marak is a powerful magician who claims to be the goblin king, and he has very specific plans for the two new girls who have trespassed into his kingdom . . .

I loved this book, it was extremly well written and the story was very original. It reminded me a bit of Beauty and the Beast, but an entirely different story. It starts out with a very eerie feeling, but as you read you become engrossed in the story and the characters. Slowly, you begin to fall for Marak, even though he is a goblin and is one of many who kidnap young human girls to make them their brides. I look forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy and would definately recommend this book to everyone.

Book One: The Hollow Kingdom
Book Two: Close Kin
Book Three: In the Coils of the Snake

Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier

Cybele's Secret is the companion book to Wildwood Dancing. I don't feel like I can properly explain the plot of Cybele's Secret without giving away plot twists in Wildwood Dancing so I'll be brief. This book is told through Paula's perspective. (sister to Jena who narrates Wildwood) Paula travels to Turkey to acquire a religious artifact Cybele's Gift. Paula is a scholar and must solve puzzles and complete a quest to obtain the Gift. She also must choose between two very different men. Ultimately both test her in ways she never expected. Well, I realize that really doesn't give you a good idea of the plot....sorry.

I really enjoyed Cybele's Secret in spite of the fact that it lost much of the magic and whimsical elements from Wildwood. The two books are really quite different and it isn't until the end that it captured the feeling of Wildwood. The love story in Cybele's Secret was much more front and center than in Wildwood and I really enjoyed that part. Overall a really well written book. My only complaint, which is a personal problem, is that I don't enjoy reading about female oppression that was very central to Turkey during this time period. For some reason it just really rubs me the wrong way. It does however add an interesting obstacle that would be hard to achieve another way.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer (part II)

Jessica has already written a review about this book, also providing a description of the book so I will skip that part and just add my review. Like many before me, I had a hard time getting into this book. I read over and over how it gets better after page 150. I really had to push myself to get to that point, and in those 150 pages not much happens. In summary, Wanderer (alien) has taken over Melanie’s (human) body. Melanie doesn’t give up, and slowly Wanderer begins to have compassion for the human race, falls for the memory of Melanie’s love interest, Jared, and decides to help Melanie return to her family. I’m still not sure why it took that many pages to figure all that out, but it did.

As the book moves on I slowly began to get into it a little more. I would find myself thinking “just one more chapter”, even though it was late at night and I was pretty tired. That is always a sign of a good book. Although, I don’t love the idea of body-snatchers and it’s always in the back of your mind that Melanie is trapped, I really started to like Wanda. I liked how Meyers was able to separate the relationship between Wanda and Ian, and Melanie and Jared. I enjoyed the story, but thought the book could have used a good edit, it just seemed a little too long or too descriptive in parts. I was happy with the ending. I am one that truly believes in the “happily ever after” and love when books have happy endings. I know some would think it’s not realistic, but I think happy endings are possible. It seems like Stephenie Meyers left it open for a sequel, it would be interesting to see what happens, and maybe in the future there will be a way for Souls and Humans to live together. I ended up liking the book a lot more than I thought I would.

Sorry Jess for writing another review, I just couldn’t help myself with this book. I guess we’re just drawn to the same books and we’ll constantly be overlapping each other. =)

The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer

I must admit first off that I judged this book by it's cover. I was walking by a display at my local library and it caught my eye. I picked it up and on the back it said, "Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen." I thought, "Well, I'll be the judge of that!" It turns out that Heyer has written more that 50 novels, the first being published in 1921, and is a well known historical novelist who writes mostly in the regency period. I can see why the comparison has been drawn to Jane Austen. The Reluctant Widow was every bit as witty as anything I have read from Austen but is refreshingly more fast paced. By that I just mean that the plot moved along nicely unlike Austen who sometimes, in my opinion, can get bogged down in description and set-up. Don't get me wrong though...Jane Austen is one of my all time favorite authors and I think that Heyer failed to create such layered characters as Austen.


The Reluctant Widow opens as Elinor Rochdale boards the wrong coach and ends up not at her prospective employer's home but at the estate of Eustance Chevoit, a dissipated and ruined young man on the verge of death. His cousin, Lord Ned Carolyn, persuades Elinor to marry Eustance as a simple business arrangement. By morning, Elinor is a a rich widow, but finds herself in the middle of housebreakers, uninvited guests and murder. I really enjoyed The Reluctant Widow and plan on reading more of Heyer. The characters just plain made me smile and the novel felt like a Jane Austen except without the brain cramp of trying to grasp the meaning of things. I give The Reluctant Widow 4 out of 5 Stars.

The Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

" The Covenant meant to keep the wizard wars at bay has now been stolen, and the sanctuary of Trinity must prepare for attack. Seph monitors the Weirwall, while Jack and Ellen trian their army of ghosts to face an onslaught of wizards. Even Anaweir Will and Fitch are setting traps around the town's perimeter. To Jason Haley, it feels as though everyone but him has a role to play. Then he finds a powerful talisman--a huge opal called the Dragonheart--buried in a cave. When its power washes over him, he knows he's destined for a greter purpose than anyone ever imagined. Madison Moss hears the deductive call of the Dragonheart also, but she has other things on her mind. Maddie's been leaking dark magic ever since absorbing the blow that was meant to kill her boyfriend, Seph. If anyone finds our, she'll be banished from the sanctuary--and Seph--forever. Meanwhile, Trinity's enemies mean to win the war with the helf of the Dragonheart, and they know that Madison Moss is the only one who can get it for them. Moral compasses spin out of control as a final battle storms through a town that was meant to be a refuge. With so much to lose, what will Jason and Maddie be willing to fight for, and what will the sacrifce?"

This is the last book in the Heir Trilogy. In Warrior Heir it is explained that there are five different magical groups. The Wizards, Enchanters, Sorcerers, Seers, and Warriors. I thought there would be a book about each group, having a main character like Jake in Warrior Heir, or Joseph in the Wizard Heir. So, I was disappointed when I heard that Dragon Heir would be the last in the series, I enjoyed the stories and was looking forward to reading more.

This is also a series that I would love to own and re-read, and wished I had the first two so I could have freshened up before reading Dragon Heir. Dragon Heir was great, the characters and story are fun and easy to follow. You really become attached to the different characters, and unlike some books it was fun reading from all the different perspectives. I had a hard time putting it down, and found the time just flew by as I read. The writing style was easy to get into and witty. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys fantasy, action, magic and a touch of romance.

I was a little sad with some of the things that happened; I won’t say what so I don’t ruin the story. I also would have liked if Leander and Linda were in the story more, they played big roles in the first two books and I missed them in this last installment.

Book One: The Warrior Heir
Book Two: The Wizard Heir
Book Three: The Dragon Heir

Legend of the Jewel by Nancy Campbell Allen

"Former Pinkerton spy Isabelle Webb needs a vacation. The broken leg she suffered while trying to warn President Lincoln of his impending assassination has mended a little, but her grief over his death has not. She and her young charge, Sally Rhodes, have an open itinerary when they board a steamer ship to Bombay. But upon meeting Utah blacksmith James Ashby, the two women opt to join the search for his younger brother Phillip, who's traveling abroad with the ill-reputed Thaddeus Sparks in search of a mystical treasure. Upon arrival in India, other passengers are interested in taking up the search. But the seeming good will of some soon turns dark on the streets of Bombay. As murder and kidnapping tears the group apart, James and Isabelle race to uncover the hidden motives and harrowing connections that threaten not only Phillip's life, but also their own."

It took me about twenty pages into the story to realize that this was a spin-off book from N.C. Allen's popular "Faith of our Fathers" series. It has been a few years since I read that series, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and while reading this book it made me want to revisit that series and read up on Isabelle. I've read and enjoyed all of N.C. Allen's books, she always has interesting story ideas. "Legend of the Jewel" was a fun, quick read. It takes place in India right after the Civil War in America ended. I learned a lot about India and its history while reading the book, and thought it was a great setting for a mystery. Isabelle and James and their new relationship is fun to read about. It ends a bit too abruptly, without all the loose ends being tied up. I suppose this was done to better lead into the second book. I liked the story, although it wasn't my favorite of her books.

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Wildwood Dancing has renewed my faith that great books are still written. I just need to find more of them. This book has everything. Love, mystery, action, and fantasy. The book is set in Transylvania and centers around a household of 5 sisters who discover a portal to the Other Kingdom which they visit each full moon. The story is told through Jenica's perspective and I fell in love with her character. The book is whimsical and magical and feels like your favorite fairy tale complete with a talking frog, vampires, dwarfs, and gargoyles. Thankfully the author doesn't get bogged down in description and the story really moves along. Jenica's life outside of the Other Kingdom is just as interesting as her time spent there and the two stories connect is a really fun way. I can't think of one bad thing to say about the book and I don't want to tell you too much about it and risk giving something away. For me it is a must read and it moves to the top of my best books list.

Reader's Block

Is it just me, or do you ever go through stages where you just don't want to read. Or you just can't seem to get into any books? Well, that is what I have been going through lately. For some reason I have a low motivation to really read right now. I am always wanting to find an amazing book, like Twilight or Goose Girl. Where you can just get lost in the story and fall in love with the characters. I have slowly been reading "A Curse as Dark as Gold", and I like it so far but just can't seem to really get into it. So, should I just force myself to sit down and read, or should I wait until the reading bug bites?

I'm hoping this slump will get over soon, then I can get back to reading a book a day and writing fun posts. So bear with me while I go through my little moment.

The Host by Stephaine Meyer

I think I showed a great deal of courage reading this book after my utter disappointment in Breaking Dawn. The general gist of the plot is that Earth has been invaded by aliens that live in our bodies like parasites. Most of human kind doesn't know this invasion has happened until it is too late. Some "hosts" are resistant like, Melanie Stryder, and she refuses to fade away when her body is turned over to an alien named Wanderer. Melanie floods Wanderers mind with images of the man she loves and her brother. Wanderer finds she loves them too and the two set off together to reclaim them.

Wanderer and Melanie share a mind so the book consists of lots of internal dialogue which can be hard to tell who is talking. Meyer seems to love description just for the sake of description and I was bogged down it that A LOT so I did some skimming. Especially at the end. The book honestly could have been about 100 pages shorter and would have lost nothing. I enjoyed that it was an adult book but with Meyer you can expect no bad language or sexual content which is wonderful! I don't normally like science fiction books but the concept intrigued me and it was a good read. I did some crying, which surprised me greatly, but there were touching parts of the story that I didn't expect. I think Meyer is a masterful author to be able to create two distinct characters that share a body and mind. The book didn't suck me in so if you decide to read it then stick with it for about 150 pages if you aren't loving it. I give it 3 and half stars. All in all a good book.

*reviewed by Jessica

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Young Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Irish Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, a domain well protected from invading Saxons and Britons by dense forest where, legend says, fey Deirdre, the Lady of the Forest, walks the woodland paths at night. Colum is first and foremost a warrior, bent on maintaining his lands against all outsiders. Not all of his sons are so bound to the old ways, and that family friction leads to outright disobedience when Sorcha and her brother Finbar help a Briton captive escape from Colum's dungeon. Soon after, Colum brings home a new wife who tries to manipulate everyone around her and casts a spell over the six brothers. By her spell Sorcha's brothers are cursed to become swans. Only Sorcha, hiding deep in the forest, can break the spell by painfully weaving shirts of starwort nettle--but then Sorcha is captured by Britons and taken away across the sea. Determined to break the curse despite her captivity, Sorcha continues to work, little expecting that ultimately she will have to chose between saving her brothers and protecting the Briton lord who has defended her throughout her trials. (Amazon.com)

I love fairytales, they are my weakness. I love reading them and I love modern-day retellings. Daughter of the Forest is a retelling of an old fairy tale “The Wild Swans” by Hans Christen Anderson, and “The Six Swans” by the Brothers Grimm.

I really liked the main character Sorcha and the strength of character that she had. She had a wonderful relationship with her brothers, which often made me think of my three older brothers. And took on the most impossible task in order to save their lives, at great sacrifice to herself. The love story between her and Hugh was sweet. I liked how he took it upon himself to be her protector, how they had a connection and even though she couldn’t speak they were able to communicate and build a friendship, where she would eventually be able to trust and love him. I really wanted to loved this story, it’s a classic fairytale and if a few things had been done differently it really would have been great.

***Spoiler alert***
Here are the things I didn’t like about the book. About 150 pages into the book Sorcha is raped. Had I known there was a rape in the story I wouldn’t have bothered reading it. Although I skipped over that part, I found it very upsetting and couldn’t believe the author added that to the story. It was completely unnecessary, and left a sense of darkness throughout the rest of the book. It really ruined the whole story for me and I think the author should have stuck closer to the original stories and not taken such liberties in adding such a needless tragedy. I also thought the book really needed a good edit. It really dragged on and on. There was way too much detail and side stories and the chapters were too long. I would have enjoyed it more if the story had been more concise.

Help! I Need Book Club Suggestions

My book club will be meeting next week (we'll be discussing Secret Life of Bees and Pride & Prejudice). While there we will also be discussing which books we want to read in 2009. I would love to have some suggestions on which books you've read and loved or ones that you want to read. Please leave a comment with any book ideas that you have. Thanks!