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Kiwiria's June Reads
Jul. 1st, 2022 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiwiriaLegacy - Nora Roberts, 4/5, ~15hrs
Nora Roberts writes ridiculously readable books. They're very formulaic, but I know that going into them, so it doesn't really bother me, and they pretty much always turn out to be proper page turners (or whatever the audible equivalent would be).
This was no exception and I breezed through it, enjoying every minute. It's not her best work, but definitely not her worst either, and I liked all the characters. I loved reading about Adrian's life in Traveler's Creek and that Nora Roberts subscribes to the theory that generally speaking - people are nice! (with a few blatant exceptions, obviously). It makes for a very comfortable read.
The Ex-Husband - Karen Hamilton, 3/5, 352 pages
Basically I'll read anything that takes place on a cruise ship ;-) Fortunately, that wasn't all it had going for it, and I did end up really enjoying it, and read the second half in just one day! The beginning is told in two timelines (past and present) which seldom works for me, as I by far preferred the "present" to the "past", so I was glad when the "past" caught up with the beginning of the book, and the rest could just be told in real-time.
It's definitely NOT realistic, but I knew that going into the story, so didn't have any problems suspending my disbelief for it, and I did love reading about life onboard the yacht. The ending came a bit too easy for me, but worked with the characters, so it didn't bother me too much.
All in all I understand the fairly average rating - it's a fairly average book. An enjoyable read, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The Damning Stone - T.J. Klune, 4/5, ~17hrs
Okay, I'll state my bias right away - I'm simply just more fond of Sam that I am of Justin, and that alone made me adore this slightly less than the other books in the series.
But that said, it was still really, really good! I loved having all the characters back, I loved Dylan and can't wait to meet Digger (because the end definitely paved the way for another book - which I'm all for!). The humour was the same as always, the friendships were as awesome as always (I loved the kids!!! So sweet :-D ), and it had some interesting twists along the way that I hadn't seen coming.
I read this as an audiobook, and as always Michael Lesley did an amazing job :-D
Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time - Lauren Keenan, 3.5/5, 260 pages
A fun children's book involving time travel and just a tad of a history lesson - but so subtly delivered that the kids will never realize it ;-) I really enjoyed reading about how Taranaki changed throughout the years, and was once again saddened to be reminded just how badly colonizers tend to treat the original people :-( This one was extra poignant as I have been to Parihaka Marae, and it therefore seemed less abstract than such reminders often do (which is bad enough in and of itself...)
But I digress. Please don't get me wrong - the book is not depressing at all! This is the take-away my adult self took from it. Kids will focus more on the time travelling aspect and the siblings' adventure through time.
Midlife Magic - Victoria Danann, 4.5/5, 500 pages
This has got to be the shortest 500 page book I've ever read.
it didn't take me long to fall in love with Rita and the inhabitants of Hallow Hill. Sure, Rita is a huge Mary Sue, but that seldom bothers me much, and it certainly didn't in this case. I loved reading about her introduction to her job and to the other villagers, and how she found her footing in the community.
There's hardly any plot in the book, but the characters are so engaging and enjoyable to read about that I didn't mind at all. I felt like part of the village - getting to know them at the same speed as Rita did. That said, I was VERY keen to read about the first trials by the time I got to the end, and immediately went to amazon to purchase the next book in the series.
Midlife Blues - Victoria Danann, 4/5, 260 pages
A lot shorter than the first book in the series (about half the length in fact) which was quite the surprise, but still very enjoyable. This book covers the first trials Rita presides over - some in a LOT of detail, others less so. Again the Mary Sue aspect is strong in this one, but the outcomes of the trials are so very satisfying that I don't even care :-P
I don't quite buy the relationship between Rita and Keir - the friendship is obvious, the romance seems to be more tell than show. I love seeing John David coming a bit further out of his shell though!
Quick read that was easily devoured in a day.
Dragonsinger - Anne McCaffrey*, 5/5, 240 pages
One of my all-time favourite books. I've read this more times than I can count.
Heartstopper Vol 1-4, 4/5, 1366 pages
I wanted to read these before I watched the Netflix series. I liked the books, I LOVED the series! One of the few times the adaption is better than the source material, but it isn't really a fair comparison, as the plot is basically a 1:1 transformation from the book (layout, lines and everything), and the actors are just PERFECT as the characters. You would not believe the number of times I swooned while watching it. ♥
Nora Roberts writes ridiculously readable books. They're very formulaic, but I know that going into them, so it doesn't really bother me, and they pretty much always turn out to be proper page turners (or whatever the audible equivalent would be).
This was no exception and I breezed through it, enjoying every minute. It's not her best work, but definitely not her worst either, and I liked all the characters. I loved reading about Adrian's life in Traveler's Creek and that Nora Roberts subscribes to the theory that generally speaking - people are nice! (with a few blatant exceptions, obviously). It makes for a very comfortable read.
The Ex-Husband - Karen Hamilton, 3/5, 352 pages
Basically I'll read anything that takes place on a cruise ship ;-) Fortunately, that wasn't all it had going for it, and I did end up really enjoying it, and read the second half in just one day! The beginning is told in two timelines (past and present) which seldom works for me, as I by far preferred the "present" to the "past", so I was glad when the "past" caught up with the beginning of the book, and the rest could just be told in real-time.
It's definitely NOT realistic, but I knew that going into the story, so didn't have any problems suspending my disbelief for it, and I did love reading about life onboard the yacht. The ending came a bit too easy for me, but worked with the characters, so it didn't bother me too much.
All in all I understand the fairly average rating - it's a fairly average book. An enjoyable read, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The Damning Stone - T.J. Klune, 4/5, ~17hrs
Okay, I'll state my bias right away - I'm simply just more fond of Sam that I am of Justin, and that alone made me adore this slightly less than the other books in the series.
But that said, it was still really, really good! I loved having all the characters back, I loved Dylan and can't wait to meet Digger (because the end definitely paved the way for another book - which I'm all for!). The humour was the same as always, the friendships were as awesome as always (I loved the kids!!! So sweet :-D ), and it had some interesting twists along the way that I hadn't seen coming.
I read this as an audiobook, and as always Michael Lesley did an amazing job :-D
Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time - Lauren Keenan, 3.5/5, 260 pages
A fun children's book involving time travel and just a tad of a history lesson - but so subtly delivered that the kids will never realize it ;-) I really enjoyed reading about how Taranaki changed throughout the years, and was once again saddened to be reminded just how badly colonizers tend to treat the original people :-( This one was extra poignant as I have been to Parihaka Marae, and it therefore seemed less abstract than such reminders often do (which is bad enough in and of itself...)
But I digress. Please don't get me wrong - the book is not depressing at all! This is the take-away my adult self took from it. Kids will focus more on the time travelling aspect and the siblings' adventure through time.
Midlife Magic - Victoria Danann, 4.5/5, 500 pages
This has got to be the shortest 500 page book I've ever read.
it didn't take me long to fall in love with Rita and the inhabitants of Hallow Hill. Sure, Rita is a huge Mary Sue, but that seldom bothers me much, and it certainly didn't in this case. I loved reading about her introduction to her job and to the other villagers, and how she found her footing in the community.
There's hardly any plot in the book, but the characters are so engaging and enjoyable to read about that I didn't mind at all. I felt like part of the village - getting to know them at the same speed as Rita did. That said, I was VERY keen to read about the first trials by the time I got to the end, and immediately went to amazon to purchase the next book in the series.
Midlife Blues - Victoria Danann, 4/5, 260 pages
A lot shorter than the first book in the series (about half the length in fact) which was quite the surprise, but still very enjoyable. This book covers the first trials Rita presides over - some in a LOT of detail, others less so. Again the Mary Sue aspect is strong in this one, but the outcomes of the trials are so very satisfying that I don't even care :-P
I don't quite buy the relationship between Rita and Keir - the friendship is obvious, the romance seems to be more tell than show. I love seeing John David coming a bit further out of his shell though!
Quick read that was easily devoured in a day.
Dragonsinger - Anne McCaffrey*, 5/5, 240 pages
One of my all-time favourite books. I've read this more times than I can count.
Heartstopper Vol 1-4, 4/5, 1366 pages
I wanted to read these before I watched the Netflix series. I liked the books, I LOVED the series! One of the few times the adaption is better than the source material, but it isn't really a fair comparison, as the plot is basically a 1:1 transformation from the book (layout, lines and everything), and the actors are just PERFECT as the characters. You would not believe the number of times I swooned while watching it. ♥
