Bogormen

Title: Little Fires Everywhere
Author: Celeste Ng
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 2/5
# pages: 348
Date read: July, 2018

Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the alluring mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When the Richardsons' friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town and puts Mia and Mrs. Richardson on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Mrs. Richardson becomes determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs to her own family – and Mia's.


I'd heard people rave about this book for ages, so it's possible that my expectations were just too high, and I ended up being rather disappointed by it.

My problems with it:
- It was really, really slow to start! I'm glad I'd been told that it would pick up around page 100 or I'd have given up before then.
- I did not care for the writing style at all. As a rule, I don't care for books that start at the ending and then work their way back, and this one even had flashbacks within the flashbacks! FAR too much exposition.
- Very, very few sympathetic characters, and a few really dysfunctional ones.
- Unbelievable neighbourhood. Stepford Wives v.2.0?
- Too many decisions and judgments being made on assumptions rather than facts.
- Much too open an ending.

I can tell objectively that it was well written, but it didn't work for me.

Title: The Lightning-Struck Heart (Tales from Verania #1)
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5+/5
# pages: Audiobook ~17 hours
Date read: January 2017, July 2018, May 2020, February 2024

Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.

Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam's pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King's Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.

When Sam is fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.

At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle. Sir Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.

Naturally, it all goes to hell through the years when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can't control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan's boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.


Oh boy, where to start!

I have two simultaneous thoughts I want to get out through this review.
1) This book was HILARIOUS and I loved every minute of it. Can't remember when a book has last made me laugh this much and this often. Not to mention that it was just SWEET! ... at times... in places...
2) This book should come with a shit-load of warnings for language and content and is NOT for everybody!

(And for once I'm not going to apologize for my language, because I'd rather scare you off now, than after buying the book. Just trust me on that one. Consider it a VERY mild example).

Meet Sam of Wild - a 20-year-old wizard's apprentice, who has an incredible talent for getting captured by Dark wizards... but fortunately they just. can't. stop. monologueing!
Gary - a hornless gay unicorn who snorts coloured sparks and poops rainbows and cupcake-smells.
Tiggy - a half-giant who'll smash all of Gary and Sam's enemies if they let him.
Kevin - a sexually aggressive dragon.
'Mother' - Sam's fairy drag-mother.
Dmitri - the 6" tall gay fairy with a size-kink whom Sam almost got gay fairy married to that one time...
And of course - Knight Ryan Deliciousface... oops, sorry, I mean Ryan Foxface, who's the object of Sam's abject devotion, but unfortunately betrothed to Prince Justin.

Add all this together, and you get the FUNNIEST book it's been my pleasure to read in a very, very long time (I laughed out loud more times than I can count), while at the same time being incredibly rich in sexual jokes and very crude language. So if (explicit) M&M romance and (even more explicit) sexual banter is a dealbreaker for you - this is your warning.

The plot itself was well executed and pretty traditional for a fantasy novel - prince gets captured by dragon, knight and wizard must go free prince and return home in time for a royal wedding - yada-yada-yada. The novel's strength comes in the dialogue between the characters, and the obvious affection between Sam and his friends (including Ryan), his family, and even his wizard mentor and his King. Sam has the weirdest life ever, but it never seems forced, and much like Douglas Adams, T.J. Klune manages to make the jokes and mad escapades seem effortless and natural. The writing was excellent and appropriately witty all the way through.

The ending was perhaps a tiiiiiiny bit more explicit than I would have liked (although that may mostly have been because of the awkwardness of listening to it, rather than reading it myself), but for most of the book the sexual content is mostly talk, very little action. So download a sample off amazon, and if the language in the first few paragraphs doesn't scare you off - go for it. You won't regret it.

I "read" this as an audiobook, and absolutely adored the narrator, Michael Lesley. I've never listened to any of his performances before, but did an incredible job.

Title: Witches Under Way (WitchLight Trilogy #2)
Author: Debora Geary
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 419, Audiobook ~9hrs
Date read: July 2013, July 2014, February 2015, August 2016, July 2018, December 2019, December 2021, March 2024

Lizard and Elsie are under way, but the WitchLight journey isn't an easy one.
- There are bumps and obstacles inside their own hearts.
- There are meddling witches, helpful knitters, and a fearsome duo with water pistols.
- And there is the greatest challenge of all... the one they will pick for each other.


I liked this even more than the first book in the trilogy. The first book was great, but it really mostly served to set the stage for this one. In this Elsie and Lizard got to soar... both figuratively and literally.

I laughed out loud on several occasions and had a lump in my throat more times than I can count - and more often than not the two happened at the same time... made for interesting bus reading, I'll tell you that! But the story isn't over yet, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Oh, and I'm totally in love with Freddie :)

Title: The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club (Diva's Don't Knit)
Author: Gil McNeil
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 404
Date read: June 2011, April 2014, July 2018

When her husband dies in a car crash-not long after announcing he wants a divorce-Jo Mackenzie packs up her two rowdy boys and moves from London to a dilapidated villa in her seaside hometown. There, she takes over her beloved Gran's knitting shop-a quaint but out-of-date store in desperate need of a facelift. After a rough beginning, Jo soon finds comfort in a "Stitch and Bitch" group; a collection of quirky, lively women who share their stories, and their addiction to cake, with warmth and humor.

As Jo starts to get the hang of single-parent life in a small town, she relies on her knitting group for support. The women meet every week at the shop on Beach Street and trade gossip and advice as freely as they do a new stitch. But when a new man enters Jo's life, and an A-list actress moves into the local mansion, the knitting club has even more trouble confining the conversation to knit one, purl two.

A nice, cozy read. I was a bit dubious at first, as it could have ended up being rather depressing, but fortunately it was handled well, and ended up being an enjoyable, feel-good read. I especially loved the friendship that developed between Jo and Grace, and laughed out loud at Grace's manipulation of Jo's star-struck ex-in-laws.

Title: Library of the Dead
Author: Glenn Cooper
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 350
Date read: January 2011, October 2013, July 2018, May 2025

Nine mysterious postcards found on the scene of nine New York City murders, all emblazoned with a coffin and the victim's impending date of death...

A legendary FBI profiler with a troubled past, a drinking problem, and nothing left to lose...

An unwanted son born under a curse on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year 777...

A post World War II expedition into the crypts of a clandestine medieval society...

...all leading to a secret that the world must never comprehend.

It's gotta be a good omen when the first book of the year is a clear 5-star book, right? ;)

Fantastic book tying together events in Las Vegas and New York of 2009, Area 51 of 1947 and Isle of Wright of 777. The jump between settings and times made for a fascinating read, and gave enough clues that I was able to guess quite a number of the conclusions myself which was immensely satisfying. "Library of the Dead" was almost impossible to put down, and I'm very glad I already have the sequel readily available, because I definitely want to read that one as well.

Title: Breaking Dawn Author: Stephenie Meyer Genre: Fantasy Rating: 5/5 # pages: 833, Audiobook ~20hrs Date read: August 2008, December 2009, July 2011, August 2014, July 2018, October 2024

As August 13th draws closer, Bella is more sure than ever that she has made the right choice - forsaking her human life to spend eternity with Edward. But a new enemy stalks closer, seeking to tear Bella and Edward apart forever, one with ties to both Vampire and Werewolf.

Can the treaty between the two hold? Or will the new threat force both sides to settle their blood feud once and for all?

Because when the dawn breaks an angel will fall.


Like I had hoped, I adored it. The series has been accused of being misogynistic and advocating paedophilia (laughable), and I'm sure this book will get more of the same, but I really don't see either. Instead I see an amazing book about love, family and friendship in a group of people who just happen to be vampires and werewolves. While the other books were great in their own right, it really felt as if they were just setting the scene for this one. Not that that makes Breaking Dawn better than any of the others, it just made it feel more complete. I loved that Bella became a vampire so early in this book, that we got to see how she reacted to that as well, and how she adjusted to her new life.

Even Jacob became lovable again in this one. I'm glad. I really liked him and hated that Meyer turned him into such a jerk.

Like with the other books in the series, I just couldn't put it down and wish I hadn't had work and sleep interfere so I could've finished sooner.

For my reread I chose to listen to it as an audiobook instead in order to force myself to take it slower, and was pleased to find it was very well recorded indeed.

Reread in 2011: I was in the mood for a book I could disappear completely into and decided to go with a reread to get something I was SURE I'd enjoy. I ended up finishing it in 48 hours, so I'd say I reached my goal.