"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx
I love the thought of a world crawling with secret sects of vampires and witches. This book creates a world in which those paranormal citizens exist and Harkness finds wonderful ways to explain popular myths and the ways in which demons, witches, and vampires have made their own impact on the world, and how that impact-good or bad-is explained away to protect the "humans" from knowledge of their existence. I enjoyed the magic and the fantasy in this novel and I'm relieved that it is only the first in a trilogy. The three-star rating is only a result of the romance fostered between Diana and Matthew. It seemed too fast. One minute there is a deep-seated lack of trust and a centuries old prejudice between vampires and witches and the next it's husband, wife, eternity, and our entire races will face war so we can be together. Too much, too fast on that piece. Beyond that a fun read. I'm anxious for the next one. This is another series that I think will improve with time. I anticipate enjoying the second one even more than I enjoyed this one. I already know and love the characters so jumping right back into their adventures should be no problem!
You will find an official plot line description at: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8667848-a-discovery-of-witches.
Shame on me for my lack of attention to detail. I read this one AFTER I read the first one in the series. The good news is, it filled in some of the gaps from the first book. It's very short and it was easy to quickly go through it after I read book #1 but if I had it to do again, I think I would have had an easier time following Wizard's First Rule if I had read this first. This PRE-quel turned POST-quel for me, but was no less valuable for it.
You will find an official plot line description at:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43886.Debt_of_Bones.
Ah...the end of an age.... What a wonderful adventure Christopher Paolini has taken me on. I enjoyed this final installment of Paolini's four. I know many reviewers did not appreciate the neat and tidy wrapping-up of all the loose threads but I especially loved that aspect. Sure, it isn't realistic, but the whole story is about dragons, elves, magicians, dwarves, werecats, and any other number of fantastical and fictional characters. At that point it seems like leaving a few plot elements hanging for the sake of "realism" is like throwing a few chairs off the Titantic. The only regret I had at the turn of the last page is that it still doesn't feel finished to me. I think I may have even said, "That's it?!?" out loud. Sure, all the real hot points have been addressed and you know where everybody ends up but, what are they all going to do now? Argh!! I must know. I'm going to hope the Paolini gets itchy fingers and types up an epilogue.
You will find an official plot line description at: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7664041-inheritance.
Un-im-pressive. Jane Austen is rolling in her grave every time one of her fans picks up this book. The characters are twisted in ridiculous ways that felt sacrilegious. Pride and Prejudice is better left alone. If you haven't tainted the classic for yourself with this novel, don't.
You will find an official plot line description at:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12875355-death-comes-to-pemberley.
Bring back the Spellmans! This was the last one of this series for now. I heard a rumor that book 5 is coming soon but it can't come soon enough for me! I adore the Spellmans. They're a total train wreck of dysfunction. These books are funny and light and easy. Reading the Spellmans' adventures is like a beer after work. Refreshing. This one has one sad part that had me sobbing in my laundry (I listen to this series and I was folding clothes during the sad part) but it was appropriate and well done. Not too Nicholas Sparks-y and still with some perfectly placed Spellman hilarity. If you need something fun, check out the Spellmans.
You will find an official plot line description at:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6571967-the-spellmans-strike-again.
