Wench was a promising title that ultimately fell short for me. I loved the idea of following a tavern wench as she tried to get back her tavern and found it was really interesting. I was also pleasantly surprised by the role magic played in the story. However, the book ultimately failed to please me. Tanya was the only character who had a real arc. Other characters felt unimportant and under-developed. They had very little backstory and served no purpose beyond helping Tanya. They didn’t feel like real people.
Harry Potter thinks he is just a normal ten-year old boy living at his uncle and aunt’s house. Harry thinks that his life is terrible, but what he does not know is that his life is about to get a whole lot more interesting. Harry finds out he is a wizard! When he goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he becomes friends with Ron and Hermione. The Sorcerer’s Stone is moved, which gives the wizard immortality. The Dark Lord is trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter is trying to protect it. Will Harry defeat Voldemort, and save the Wizarding World, or will he fail?
A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first installment in an ongoing book series by Manhattan author, Sarah J. Maas. It was first published in 2015. The series has four published books, with another, A Court of Silver Flames , expected to publish in January 2021. A Court of Thorns and Roses is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a very dark twist. Nineteen-year-old Feyre’s world is split in two. The immortal faeries to the north are deadly and vicious, while mortals have their own sort of cruelty.
As the daughter of the duke, Ekata was born into a world of cut-throat politics and tenuous alliances. Unlike her siblings, though, all she wants to do is escape and study the life sciences she finds so fascinating. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances throw her into the thick of the court politics she has tried all her life to avoid. She must learn quickly how to navigate her situation and hold her head high if she wants to retain her position- and her life. I love the political intrigue throughout the book.
Three Hands for Scorpio is the last adult book for young adults of Lifetime Grand Master of Fantasy, Andre Norton, who passed away on March 17, 2005 after a long and extremely fruitful career. Her magically detailed world-building skills, upright, against-all-odds characters, and fast pace will be sorely missed. Tor rushed a copy of this book of women-of-steel into print, so that the 93-year-old author could see it before she died. It is the last manuscript she penned alone, and has an action-packed storyline.
The Secret Hour has a very imaginative paranormal premise, and it was enjoyable to read; I finished this book for reluctant readers in two sittings. I love the idea of a hidden hour after midnight where only a select few can visit, and the continuing threads of mystery and “what’s going on?” kept me reading this urban fantasy. The characters are not all best buddies, but are unique individuals with their own motivations which are shown in the fast pace.
If you like romance, space, and getting back at greedy T.V. companies while saving NASA- this story is for you. The protagonist is witty, sarcastic, and likable, the side characters complex, and the plot is compelling. What more could you want? Stamper creates a story that revolves around very human experiences: the compulsion to fix what you love (even if it’s not your job), the rush of young love, sticking up for yourself and others in the face of opposition, and a love of space travel. Hard to imagine a better book.
Once a generation in the aquatic village of Varenia, when the prince of Ilara-a nearby kindgom-comes of age, the most beautiful girl of age is chosen to marry the prince. Nor and Zadie, two twins, and the most beautiful girls in Varenia, have been hounded by their mother for their entire lives to maintain their beauty, as she does not want to pass up the chance to have a princess as a daughter.
I previously read Trickster's Choice with courageous teenage girls a little over a decade ago, and I wanted to revisit it. I had forgotten just how easy it is to get drawn into Aly’s adventures which cause her to become a slave as a girl, and I am so glad to have revisited because it was similar to visiting with an old friend. This is the story of Alianne Cooper, who wants to be a girl spy, and is the daughter of Spymaster Cooper and the famous Lioness of Tortall and champion of the throne. Certainly Tamora Pier
