Of Blood and Bone

Of Blood and Bone is the second book in the The Chronicles of One. I did not care for it much and while I will read the next book I am only reading it to get closure over what happens to a few key characters.

Fallon is annoying, everything comes so easily for her. She never has to struggle with things or has moments where she gets to realize life is not fair. An average every day Mary Jane that everyone cannot wait to worship.

I would like to know more about some of the side characters, including the animals who befriend Fallon. Along with her teacher Mallick. His story seems promising along with some areas outside of New Hope or the farm where Fallon grew up. It is all well and good to be told over and over how much crime is outside the communities but show the reader that.

Sadly Of Blood and Bone became a chore to read which is why it took me so long to read. I am just glad it is over with so I can move onto a better book.

The City of Brass

I am not even sure where to being with a review for The City of Brass. I have read fantasy and high fantasy for years yet never have I struggled so much with names, religious sects, and nationalities. Half the time I was not sure who I was reading about and I constantly got characters confused, jumping between nick names for people and their full name did not help either. I really should read The City of Brass again to try to understand it more but it was a hard book for me to hold one handed and my right hand still shows no signs of recovery any time soon.

Nahri lives in the slums and makes her money swindling rich people. Happy to steal from the rich to feed herself and save for her dream of moving out of the slums Nahri takes pride in her abilities to get money from wealthy men without having to resort to prostitution. All is going well for Nahri until she gets in a con over her head, struggling to heal a young teen Nahri accidentally summons a djinn. This is where I started to get confused as to who was who.

Ali is the crown prince but knows he will never rule since he is the second son. Happy to be in his brothers shadow he lives his life by the sword. Mastering his skills he fights with a deadly grace and all is going his way until his father summons him back to court to keep a closer eye on him.

Even though I struggled with the world Chakraborty wrote I still liked the story. I do plan on reading City of Copper and hopefully it wont be as much a struggle. Books like this make me wish for a fold out glossary so it is easier to look up terms and names.

White Chrysanthemum

A friend gave me a large box full of books to read and return. White Chrysanthemum was the first one I pulled out of the box. I hesitated when I read the description since I do not tend to like stories that deal with two different people in two different time periods.

Hana loves her life as a haenyeo and the freedom it provides her. All that changes when a Japanese solider shows up on the beach. In order to protect her younger sister, Emi, Hana distracts the solider and is taken thus saving Emi. The journey of Hana as she is sent to be a "comfort woman" for the Japanese soldiers is powerful but sad.

Emi saved by her elder sister struggles with accepting that and blames herself for Hana's capture. Now an elderly lady she continues her quest of finding her sister even after all these years. 

I was surprised this was a debut novel since it was so well written, I see seasoned authors struggle to write with the flow and grace Bracht demonstrated. I was highly interested in the story and learning the history of these tormented women. I cannot wait to see what other treasures are in the box of books.

Baking is Murder

Baking is Murder was a free book I had downloaded at one time on my Nook. I randomly choose it because I was in the mood for cozy mystery. The story was short with no real filler which was nice.

Jessie is recently divorced and between jobs, not sure what to do she decides to head to her Aunt Bee hoping to work at her bakery for awhile. Quickly hired she is enjoying the small town when a murder suddenly occurs. Determined to help Jessie works at finding clues to help her figure out who the real murder is.

The story was corny but I expect that in a cozy mystery. Very little character development just a clear cut story line, short, and a fast read. I am still in the mood for a cozy but since I have a stack of library books that will have to wait for a bit.

Alice + Freda Forever

I have wanted to read Alice + Freda Forever ever since I read a sample several years ago. Sadly it was a huge let down.

The story of a young woman who is obsessed with another young woman so much that she kills to make sure her love does not end up with someone else. The making of a thrilling story that had a lot of potential sadly the writing was choppy and it read more like part of an essay hurriedly thrown together. Not much was done to develop a story line at all it was just facts written in a dry manner. The story was also super short, lots of the book was referencing sources which is good for making it historically accurate but not for reading for pleasure.

Year One

Year One has been on my radar for awhile, I have read more serious stories about disease ravishing civilization but never one by a well known author or one that killed off so many people. The story switches between many points of view and I did have problems keeping up with genders and who was who at times. It does seems that Lana is the main character though.

Lana is a sous chef and loves her job. She cannot believe it when the news starts reporting about the Doom and how it is killing people with no cute. The Doom is mutating as fast as the remaining people can study it. Worried for their safety due to people ravishing New York city Lana and her significant other Max decide to get out of the city while they still can.

I had several problems with Year One beyond the aforementioned. The tone of the overall story could not seem to decide what it was doing, it started out in a foreign country with someone seeming to have a cold. Going on a plane and spreading the cold. Getting home and going to bed next thing they are in the hospital and a bit later deceased. It never really goes into the Doom or scientists studying it. Instead people just run from it and the world falls apart as the story jumps to people suddenly doing magik. I am not sure if the Doom woke this up in people or if people could already do this. Despite the downfalls I do wish to read Of Blood and Bone and am already on the library's waiting list. 

The Good Neighbor

The Good Neighbor the Life and Work of Fred Rogers has been on my radar since I saw it in the bookstore. While I never recall watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood as a child I was interested in the aspect of Rogers pioneering a new type of television geared towards young children.

I started out enjoying the story it felt like it would go from start to finish of Fred's life highlighting the key points and skimming over the smaller parts. Sadly it did not keep that pace. I soon grew bored with the story and just wanted it to end.

The reading was tedious, repetitive, and whole chapters were not about Fred. The words did not flow off the page and I do not feel like I really learned much about how Fred pioneered children's television which is a huge disappointment. It will be a long time before I am ready to try another biography since this one totally burned me out.