Courtney's Book Nook

Let me start off by saying that i thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in this series, before I start ranting smacking things with common garden tools. And this is a huge spoiler. Deep breath now... Here we go... First off, Ms. Cremer built up a wonderful romantic tension by creating a love triangle scenario between Calla, Ren, and Shay. For the entirety of the first two books, i was wondering exactly how things were going to go down in the end; who she would choose, the reaction of the one she didn't, and the aftermath of it all. But then she decided to ruin it all. She kills off Ren near the end of the book (more on this, lots more, to come) leaving Calla with only one choice. This is literally the biggest cop-out since twilight. (read: literary equivalent of sliced bread) I can just imagine, “I don’t want to actually have to think about how to wrap this book up in a realistic way that will leave my readers satisfied with Calla’s choice. I think I’ll just kill off Ren an...

Fans of gothic horror will find a lot to like in Long Lankin, by Lindsey Barraclough . Told on three voices, the story starts at creepy and ratchets up the tension with every chapter. Set in rural, post-war England, Cora and her little sister, Mimi, are sent to live with Aunt Ida in the decaying family manse, Guerdon Hall. They soon make friends with two brothers from the village, and the mystery as to why every window in the house is nailed shut, begins to build. Ghostly children, tidal swamps, long dead priests, cemeteries and the legend of Long Lankin creep and prey as the children play, and work to decode the curious saying scrawled in unexpected places :  Cave Bestiam . A terrific and most satisfying read. As a food I would rate it as New England clam chowder. Thick, slightly salty, creamy and buttery and warm with layers of flavor and sudden bits of chewy clam to squeeze between your teeth. A book to savor in a well lit kitchen with family nearby, because otherwise it is too ...

This long awaited sequel to 'Graceling' is, to some surprise, not about Katsa, Po, or even Fire, but about the Lady Queen Bitterblue. In all honesty, I was quite happy about that. Another book about Katsa and Po would probably end up dull and flavorless, and I didn't especially like 'Fire'. Anyways. 'Bitterblue' is about, well, Bitterblue - the 17-18 year old queen of a nation broken by her father. She's surrounded by papers, advisors, lords, secrets and other queenly stuff. In other words, she's stressed and bored out of her mind. So, naturally, she sneaks out of the castle one night and builds a life for herself as Sparks, the daughter of a royal baker. She meets, in her city, a Graced thief and a young printer, both of which hold their own secrets, and provide opportunity for romancing. Meanwhile, in the castle, Bitterblue is encountering betrayal, horrifying stories, epiphanies, and other things left behind by her father. Added to the stress of r...

Oh, god. The drama that occurred over the National Book Awards. For those of you that haven't heard of it yet, ' Chime ' was nominated for the award - but someone misheard it as ' Shine ' and accidentally released ' Shine ' by Lauren Myracle, a novel about a teen investigating a hate crime about homosexuality, as the nominee. Then, when the mistake was realized, Lauren Myracle was asked to withdraw to protect the integrity of the judges and the award. Wow. Anyways, the real review. I read this before all that drama, so my review should be mostly untainted. ' Chime ' is about Briony who believes not only that she is a witch, but that she should be burned at stake for it and that she deserves the worst punishment (but she doesn't turn herself in). Her crimes are of killing her stepmother and making the mind of her sister strangified. It's no surprise that she believes this - she can see spirits and speak with the Old Ones, a power that no one b...

Firstly, I must mention that normally, I'd never read, not even mentioning picking up , a book like this. If I hadn't gotten it for free (thank you), I don't think I'd ever read it. In terms of manga, it's unarguably shoujo . I tend to dislike those - the fantasy romances that always have a happy ending. This book was pretty interesting, but... well. It starts with the blatant, oh I'm a new girl moving in, everyone hates me this is a dumb countryside . Blegh. She has a cool name, though: Katla Leblanc. The mishmash of two different languages. She's trendy, bold, and attracting attention - and her head itches, badly. It turns out that she's part of a secret society named the Storks, or something like that. They deliver babies. In a magical way. And there's an old lady. There's plenty of romance. That I kind of skipped in my brain. I can't give a summary of that. There's a shocking secret about Katla's past, including ice, amnesia, and ...

Rae Carson       This galley sat, neglected and outdated, on our ARC bookshelf. Finally, I got around to reading it. The cover is beautiful, and I'm not about to turn aside a recommendation from Tamora Pierce herself. The back promised a story full of adventure, rebellion, magic, and romance. I was hooked, and I bit.       Unfortunately, great stretches of this book left a foul, foul taste in my unsuspecting mouth. Don't get me wrong, there were parts I really liked. Parts that were witty, smart, beautiful . If I had to describe this book with one word, though, it wouldn't be beautiful. It would be objectifying . This book, ladies, gentlemen, is objectifying.       I was quite happy with the main character at first; she was large, in an overweight way, and she knew it. She complained about it. She ate lots of food. I was OK with this. I was happy with this. She's smart, witty, a touch insecure... realistic, in a word. I loved her for it....