christianreader | Kiwiria's November Novels

Enchanted, Inc. - Shanna Swendson, 4/5, 320 pages
An interesting twist to the standard modern-day fantasy. I loved the idea of some people being completely immune to magic, and that that ability would be of value to actual magical beings.

There isn't really much plot to the book, but it's charming and interestingly written and made for the perfect plane reading.

Memory House - Bette Lee Crosby, 4/5, 178 pages
I was contacted by the publisher for an honest review.

Fair or not, experience has taught me to set my expectations low when I'm contacted for a review - especially when it's an author or a publisher I haven't heard of before - so I started this book with some reservations, which quickly turned out to be completely unfounded. I was very pleasantly surprised indeed by this book. Instead of the run-of-the-mill chick-lit/romance I'd expected, it's a charming tale of an unlikely friendship, and I ended up finishing it in just two sittings. It fit the bill perfectly when I was looking for some comfort reading yesterday morning.

I loved Ophelia and Annie, and really enjoyed reading about their growing friendship. They did get very close very fast - almost too fast for credibility perhaps - but it fit the story, so I could forgive that liberty. It did fit the pattern of there being areas of the story that were less polished than I could have wished for though (another example is Michael's actions - I didn't feel they were ever fully explained). It didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book - it just felt like it lacked the final editing to fully tighten up the writing.

I wish I hadn't read the author's note at the end though. Knowing that the memories were taken from some of Bette Lee Crosby's other books detracted from my enjoyment of it somehow. I preferred the memories to just stand on their own, with no real backstory. People who've read the other books may feel otherwise.

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness, 3.5/5, 215 pages
I'm not entirely sure what I think of this book... I think I wanted to like it more than I ultimately did. I appreciated what Patrick Ness tried to do, and did think it an interesting way to handle grief in a book, but parts of it fell very flat to me.

Most of all, I was really annoyed by Conor's grandmother and father. Both seemed distant to the point of almost being cruel. I know we only saw things through Conor's eyes, but surely Conor's father could see that Conor needed him more than his new family did.

I'd guessed the Monster's reason for walking at an early stage, but that was one part that did work for me, and which I found very touching.

As a whole, it's a book I'm glad to have read, but not one I think I'd be likely to recommend to others. Apparently this is being turned into a movie? I have a hard time seeing how that would work. It'd certainly make for a very dark and depressing one.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith, 4/5, 236 pages
Really sweet YA that I picked up on a whim and was pleased to find very charming. It was a lot less shallow than I had originally expected, and I really loved seeing Hadley evolve as the day went on. Excellent plane reading, as it didn't ask too much of the reader, while still being very enjoyable and entertaining.

Once Upon Stilettos - Shanna Swendson, 3/5, 320 pages
Unfortunately not nearly as good as the first book in the series, and parts of it really annoyed me. It really bugs me when a main character - especially in a first person narrative - insists on making poor decisions and keeping things secret when they could so obviously spare themselves a load of problems by just talking about it!

It was still charming enough to make me keep going though, and fortunately the ending was satisfying enough that I could mostly forgive it for making me read through such stupidity. I do hope Katie will be wiser in the next book though.

Damsel Under Stress - Shanna Swendson, 3.5/5, 320 pages
Better than book two, still not as good as book one. The fairy Godmother got on my nerves (I'm really, really not fond of people who believe they always know best, contrary to all evidence), but I was less frustrated with Katie for not telling Owen and/or Merlin what was going on than I was in book 2. Especially since once something serious happened she DID tell them right away.

I did absolutely love Katie visiting Owen's parents for Christmas! I think that may have been my favourite part of the book.

Basically these books make for good entertainment, but (apart from possibly the first one) they're probably not books I'd care to reread.

I still want to read the next book in the series though!

Don't Hex with Texas - Shanna Swendson, 3.5/5, 292 pages
Book 4 almost manages to recapture the charm of the first book in the series. Katie is back in Texas to get away from magic... only to discover that there's more magic around than she had ever anticipated, and her desire to keep her family out of the loop is perhaps not as easily managed as first anticipated.

I loved seeing Katie relate to more people than just Owen, and was pleased to meet her family and friends back in Texas. I do still want her to return to New York, but for a bit of a change, this was very enjoyable. And I love her granny!

Much Ado About Magic - Shanna Swendson, 4/5, 298 pages
That's more like it :) Next to the first book in the series, I think this is my favourite :) It did bother me slightly that we hadn't really heard of the council before this book (or if we had, I'd forgotten all about it), as it did seem a bit out of the blue the way the men in black (no relation) suddenly showed up.

I loved Katie's character development, and thought she really seemed to come into her own in this book. I wish Owen had believed her earlier, but can understand why he didn't.

The final confrontation seemed a tad rushed, but the ending itself threw me for a loop - I had not seen that coming! Will be very interesting to see what happens next.

Does anybody know if book 7 is meant to be the last one, or if she just hasn't published anything since 2013?

Lady Knight - Tamora Pierce*, 4.5/5, 406 pages
Alanna - Tamora Pierce*, 5/5, 216 pages
Still great comfort-reads... even if I do more or less know them off by heart by now ;)

Ender's Game - graphic novels, 2/5, 256 pages
"Ender's Game" is one of my all-time favourite books, but unfortunately this graphic novel version of it did not work for me at all. It jumped around and would have been almost impossible to follow, if I hadn't already more or less known the story off by heart, while at the same time being sadly shallow and unsatisfying. I know that graphic novels can never be as detailed as their novel counterparts, but I've seen much better adaptations in the past, so I know it can be done. A shame.

Book of the Month: Lots of cozy reads, but none that really stood out.
Biggest Disappointment: Ender's Game, the graphic novel. Unfortunately.