The Last Wish

The Last Wish has been on my to read list for several years, I finally sought it out after seeing a coworker reading a book in the series. My coworker preceded to tell me all about Sapkowski and his Polish ancestry. Since I am half Polish I was a bit more intrigued. I did start The Last Wish having played a couple hours of one of the games so I knew a bit about what a Witcher is.

Geralt is an interesting character with many levels to him. I am intrigued if his emotions are that reserved due to being a Witcher and his training or if it is just his personality. Without a doubt he has a strong sense of justice and clearly wants to do what is right all the time. That heroic rush into battle to save anyone is something I admire and I found it made the story interesting in a lot of ways. What threw me was the way the chapters changed, I could not keep up with what was going on or when it was going on. My favorite part was Sapkowski and the way he retold some famous fairy tales to have them fit into a dark world full of monsters.

I am not sure I will continue the series despite loving the writing. Without a doubt Sapkowski is one of the most elegant storytellers I have ever read. What deters me is trying to figure out what is going on, I am not sure if the time line is jumping around, I am confused on who side characters are, and just when I got interested into the story it would move on to something else. In some ways it felt like a lot of short stories combined into one big book.

The Murder Pit

The Murder Pit is the first book in A Moose Mystery Murder series. I was in the mood for something that felt a bit like Halloween for me and this fit the theme I was looking for plus it was free on my Nook.

Daisy is excited to find a great historical fixer upper house, at least until her and her family move in and start to learn the true extent of the problems in the house. While defrosting some pipes Daisy notices a small door and opens it finding a coal chute that she did not know about when buying the house along with a dead body inside. Things get even more complicated when it turns out Daisy went on a date with the deceased a couple years ago. With suspicion pointed at her Daisy is determined to solve the crime.

My major problem with the story is that Daisy elected to home school her children (which is fine) but I never saw any actual learning going on. Everything seemed to mock the home schooling program and I cringed when Daisy made outlandish connections with homeschooling on how every day activities, like playing in the snow, were preparing her kids for life. I would not say no to reading another book in the series since I enjoyed the overall story of The Murder Pit but it is not something I am in a hurry to do.

The Deadly Real Estate Affair

The Deadly Real Estate Affair is the fourth book in the Daisy McDare series. Since I missed book two and three I was not sure how the new boyfriend came into the picture.

Once again Daisy is setting out to do a decorating job. She is excited to be setting up a model home for a new community that is being built. Tired of renting she is hoping to get a good deal on one of the new homes however for her she runs into more then she bargains for when the owner ends up dead.

I cannot say I really saw the writing improve since the first book in the series however I still found it a short, entertaining read. I did look for more Daisy McDare books on my Nook but I could not find anymore, one day I may check the library.

Daisy McDare and the Deadly Art Affair

One night after coming home from working until 1am I was trying to find a book to shut my mind off so I could relax and sleep. I wanted a cozy mystery and Daisy McDare popped up as free on my Nook. I downloaded the book and was excited to see it was not super long. While I can tell Daisy McDare is self published I still had a lot of fun with the story.

Daisy is a interior decorator who has agreed to decorate for an old friend from school. Upon arriving at the mansion Daisy is thrilled to hit it off with her friend and the two pick up like they never left off. Everything is going swimmingly until Daisy's friends husband is found dead in his art studio.

Yes Daisy has too easy of a time solving the crime and figuring out pretty obvious answers but it was still a fun short read, I am reading another book in the series but I accidentally started the fourth one.

The Hundred Secret Senses

I picked up The Hundred Secret Senses for half off when the local bookstore was closing. I have heard nothing but good things about Amy Tan's writing and had been wanting to try out one of her books for ages. However I did not care for the story or the characters.


Olivia was so annoying and since she was the narrator I had to deal with her throughout the whole book. I wanted to like the story and I had high hopes for everyone but it was just full of fluff and the plot did not move along quickly. Nothing felt resolved to me at all and I had hoped the characters would find closure not just have things opened ended the whole time.

Not everyone can like every author and I think Amy Tan's writing style is just not to my liking. I wish the characters would have grown in some way but I was unable to see that at all.

Rise of the Evening Star

Rise of the Evening Star is the second book in the Fablehaven series. I was super excited and eager to read Rise of the Evening Star, having been given a taste of what the Evening Star is in Fablehaven I was ready to learn more. 

Kendra has defiantly grown since Fablehaven and took her experiences and learned from them. She is a little more outgoing and less fearful of putting herself out there. One hard thing for her is learning to cope with all the changes that have occurred with her body and mind. I am eager to see what other powers she has.

Seth was revealed a little more in Rise of the Evening Star and he has learned a bit of caution. While still reckless at times he does try to think things through and the possible consequences for his actions.

It was nice and refreshing to see both characters grown in different ways. I am on the waiting list for Grip of the Shadow Plague and am eager to continue learning Kendra and Seth's story.

Fablehaven

I have wanted to read Fablehaven for a long time, ever since I heard it was the new craze for middle school children. However the waiting list at the library has been crazy long and I had been on it for a long time so when I saw that an ebook was available I quickly checked it out. Surprisingly I was not let down, I enjoyed the story immensely and even convinced my husband to start reading the series.

Kendra and Seth are not excited at all at the thought of spending time with their mysterious grandparents while their parents go on a cruise. Just wanting the time to be over they are immediately bored when they arrive at the remote house. However Grandpa has no intention of letting the children be bored, setting them up with plenty of things to play with and an amusing treasure hunt for Kendra the children soon become thrilled by the many diversions offered to them. However it seems something is still missing and they want to get to the bottom of it.

The story was told from Kendra's point of view for several chapters, so many in fact I thought it would only be told from her point view and it was a bit of a surprise when it switched to Seth's point of view. I like Kendra, I can relate to her in a lot of ways. She loves to follow the rules and be the good girl all the time. It is hard for her to let go and have a good time without fearing the consequences.

Seth seems like a typical little boy, he likes to get into mischief, argue with his elder sister, and explore especially when the places are off limits for exploring. Since little of the story is told from Seth's point of view it is harder to get a good feel on his character. That may change as the series progresses though.

Even though the story is written for a younger audience I enjoyed it a lot. Well rounded, thought out, with no real gaping plot holes. I immediately put my name down for the second book in the series and eagerly checked every day to see if it was my turn yet. At this point I plan on reading the whole series.