Nerd Girl Loves Books

2 stars

This is another book club book, and another disappointment. I know that a lot of people like this author’s books, but this is the second one of hers that I’ve read and I didn’t care for either one. It took a lot of effort for me to read this book and I found myself skimming more than half of the book. The author is a lovely writer, and there are several phrases and sentences that are beautiful. But overall, I just can’t get into her writing style. I don’t like books that take an entire page to describe a leaf, or a butterfly, or a tree. I know a lot of people like that. I don’t. Continue reading “Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver” →

3 stars

This is the last book in this trilogy. I must say, I’m pretty disappointed with the weird turn this series took midway through book 2, and it didn’t get any better in book 3. The first book was really good and had the author continued to tell THAT story, this series would have been much, much better. I just didn’t see the need to turn this into a time-traveling, mind-swapping saga. Continue reading “The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen” →

3 stars

This was a fun, fluffy retelling of Pride and Prejudice.

The Bennet women are all modern girls with jobs, boyfriends and 21st century problems. Jane is almost 40 and a yoga instructor. Liz is a magazine writer in her late 30’s. Both women live in NYC, but return to their hometown of Cincinnati when their father has a health problem. They return to find their childhood home in poor repair, their younger sister’s sponging off their parents and their parents on the verge of bankruptcy. Continue reading “Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld” →

3 stars

This was a pretty good book. The plot is pretty dark, and has one or two more twists than necessary, but overall, was a good read.

The story involves a male police officer that was convicted of murdering a woman in brutal fashion. The day he gets out of prison, the woman’s son attempts to kill him in a bar by the prison, only to be shot by the bartender. The next day another woman is found murdered in the exact same place and in the exact same way as the woman who the police officer is accused of killing. He’s immediately suspected of the new murder. In addition, corrupt prison officials are hunting him as well. Continue reading “Redemption Road by John Hart” →

2 stars

Ugh. I just don’t know what to say. I really liked the author’s previous book series Legend, but just haven’t been able to get into this series at all. It’s not the writing, it’s just the story. It’s just too dark and isn’t interesting. I really don’t like the main character Adelina. Continue reading “The Midnight Star by Marie Lu” →

4 stars

A fitting conclusion to the Inda book series. The kingdom prepares for the inevitable battle with Venn. The battle itself was a bit anti-climatic, but considering there were so many other great battles and action scenes in the 4 books, it’s a minor complaint. The last quarter of the series was a bit of a surprise, but only because it was not really something that I expected the author to include in the story. Most of the characters’ storylines wrapped up nicely, although there were a few convenient deaths that were a bit too convenient and were clearly just to push the story along. Overall, however, the ending was satisfying.

2 stars

I was looking forward to reading this book as I really liked the Lunar Chronicles series. Sadly, this book isn’t nearly as strong as any of the books in that series. It’s a twist on Alice in Wonderland and just doesn’t work. (It’s meant to be a “prequel” to explain how the Queen of Hearts came to be.) Continue reading “Heartless by Marissa Meyer” →

4 stars

This is a satisfying ending to this trilogy. Cara is a young lady at Wolf Glen. She is loved by her family, but has always been thought a bit odd. Instead of needlepoint, music and flirting, she would much rather climb trees, talk with animals and wander the woods. When she is met by a “wild man” near her home, her father abruptly sends her to Prince Oran’s home at Winterfalls to learn how to be more of a lady. Continue reading “Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier” →

5 Stars

The answer is that it does not matter what you think, because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day… You do not write your life with words. You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.

Conor has a lot on his plate. His mum has cancer. His dad divorced his mum, married someone else and moved to America with their new baby. His grandmother is cold and intimidating. He is being picked on by a bully at school, and has no friends. And then the monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

This is a beautifully written book about grief, loss and acceptance. Prepare to cry. A lot.

216 pages