Tina (HDB)

I have to say this was a refreshing week for me in the reading department. I received this lovely book a few weeks ago and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven't read any of the previous books in the series, so this can definitely be read as a standalone, but there are definitely references to the other books if you feel inclined to read more about Sam Slater.

All of the characters are well developed and interesting, and the story flows flawlessly. The dialogue is great and the San Francisco backdrop is fun to read about. Sam and his wife Amelia run a PI firm and get caught up in the Cable Car Mystery when Sam saves a lady after falling from a car. Their research into the woman he saved brings about new questions and a problem to solve.

Amelia's character has her own story line with her neighbor and it compliments the main story well. I really enjoyed the banter between her and Sam, especially since the newspaper pictures put him in a risque position with the woman he saved. There is just enough background information and references to previous books (aka character history) that keep the story moving without rehashing everything from the rest of the series.

This was a fun, short mystery that I would highly recommend to all readers. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.

I don't know why but nothing I've read lately has been great. I know it's partly because I'm not reading a lot of books but this one just felt meh. I requested it from Net galley and was hoping for a fun mystery. By the end of the book I didn't really care who had done it. *sigh*

The characters were well written, there was just a lot of mundane details that weren't necessary to the story. I got bored of reading about walking home, feeding the dog and making dinner (there were several times this scenario was written out).

All in all I was not a big fan of this book. 

Of course it is happening inside your head Harry, but why on earth should thatmean that it is not real? -Albus Dumbledore

 

All good things must come to an end. I really enjoyed this read through of the whole series again, especially since the audiobook gives it a different feel and voice. I don't think I'll ever get tired of reading the Harry Potter books and I (unabashedly) hope that my daughter falls in love with them someday too. 

Deathly Hallows is such a good book because it not only is the climax of the series, but also brings out the best/worst in each character. I had forgotten how involved Kreacher was in the series (since the movies leave out a good portion of the house elf stuff) and I loved when he comes to help in the final fight. 

I think I'm having a book hangover (again). I thought reading these as an adult (well an older person... adult is questionable) wouldn't be as magical, but it is. 

Let it be known that this is a prequel to the Lou Malloy Crime Series. I haven't read any of the series but this short little taste makes me want to read more. For fans of the series I imagine this is a great back story on Lou Malloy, the main character.

In only 52 pages, J. Frank James gives us a taste of what life was like in small town Kansas for Lou and his family. Everyone knows everyone in their town and Lou and his brother have a hard time dealing with small town life. They both have big dreams of leaving, and one day, they do.

There is definitely a cliffhanger ending (if you haven't read the first book in the series) so I'd recommend you pick up Dead Money Run so you can jump right in to the story.

All in all this was a well written introduction to the series and leaves you wanting more.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.

I feel like OOTP gets a lot of flak from the Harry Potter community because Harry is very whiny in it. Now that I'm a little older and wiser I think it's a pretty accurate portrayal of the anxiousness and isolation that teenagers sometimes experience. Removing magic from the picture, not hearing from my friends all summer and living with an abusive family would make me pretty upset too. Then to be publicly ridiculed at school, one of his "safe" places, would be hard for any adult, let alone a teenager to deal with.

I'm not saying moments of the story weren't grating, I'm just saying it was a much easier read this time through. 

I mentioned the narrator's, Jim Dale, female voices were bothering me and I have to say that is still true. He did a great job with what I imagined Umbridge would sound like, but Luna Lovegood was, in my humble opinion, awful. Instead of flighty/whimsical (which is how she was described several different times in this book) the voice was grated and rough. Aside from that I think he's doing a good job with the book as a whole. 

I still love this book. The Dept of Mysteries, the Order getting together, the DA... all of these are some of my favorite parts of the series. I really enjoyed the end of the book when Dumbledore finally starts filling Harry in on the prophecy and his theories about the connection between him and Voldemort. 

On a side note, I think the movie version did a great job of the Dumbledore/Voldemort fight in the Ministry of Magic forum. It really brought to life that scene in a way I haven't appreciated before. 

Well it's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to -- come quietly. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course -- but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing.

 

 

Albus Dumbledore knows how to lay the smack down in such a way that you can't help but admire him. 

Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have. - Hermione

 

Ah teenage boys and their lack of understanding about how complicated we women can be. hahaha

Jim Dale's voice for Luna Lovegood is more grating than his voice for Hermione. This may be a hard listen if it doesn't improve. 

:( 

Bahahahaha I forgot about the part where Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy get hexed by Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George on the train. 

Tentacles growing from Malfoy's face... soooooo good! 

A girl has to dream and expect more.  If women expected nothing from men, men would never amount to much. 

 

So much truth. Loving this story so far.

Hello friends! As usual life has gotten crazy lately and I have been missing my bookish community and my reading time. Hubby is away for the weekend (and missing baby girls first Easter :-( ) so I decided to dub this a Reading weekend. I'm going to try not to watch mindless tv like I usually do, but actively try to get some reading done between hanging out with baby girl. Laziness be damned!

We're in the process of packing and moving and will be for about 6 weeks (escrow takes forever) so if I'm not around much, you know why! While this is a very exciting time in our lives, it leaves very little time/energy for hobbies. 

In other news, baby girl is almost 7 months old now! Where has the time gone? She's so close to crawling and we will have a very mobile baby very soon. Bonus picture :D 

Miss you all! Wishing all of you a very Happy Easter and lots of spring reading time!

Listening to Mad Eye Moody's first lesson brings all the feelings. I can't imagine what it would be like to see the curse that killed my parents done to something in front of me. Or in Neville's case, the curse that cost my parents sanity. That is a heavy burden to bear. 

I haven't read the books in almost a decade (I know, I know) but I watch the movies every year at Christmas as a tradition now. Chamber of Secrets made me miss book Ginny all over again. Even though this is just our first significant introduction to her as a character there is so much more to her character than what they do in the movies. 

Also, Professor Liarpants (Lockhart) is just as annoying as I remember. 

Onto the next!

The first few chapters read like a stand alone novel with it's general references to things from the first book. I wonder if JK Rowling knew she was going to continue the series. 

A friend of mine has let me borrow all of the HP audiobooks and I am officially hooked. They make the work day go by so much faster and Jim Dale does a good job narrating. His female voices are a little grating but I think some of that is intentional. 

Sorcerer's Stone is definitely for a younger audience but I still really enjoyed it. Harry's naivete always surprises me a bit. It is also interesting how many lines from the book they have rearranged in the movies to make Hermione more interesting.  I'm sure I could go on for days about the differences between the movies and the books. 

And now onto Chamber of Secrets! Audiobooks are my new favorite now that my actual physical reading time is so limited. 

Calling it on this one. I've reread the first few chapters twice and I'm still lost.