Month: April 2017

Summer’s coming so more time to read;  I thought I’d get a head start.

   

            

Happy Summer Reading, ya’ll

I don’t often give 5 stars, but this fantasy novel earns every single star.
Strange the Dreamer is totally captivating. Laini Taylor has woven a magical story with lush and evocative writing and wonderful characters.
Lazlo Strange is an orphan and a dreamer. His parentage is a mystery. Saved by strict monks when he was just an infant, he lives a lonely life, but hears fantastical stories from an aged monk. Later, Lazlo serves as a junior librarian in a scholarly library. He is obsessed with the mystical city of Weep. A city lost in time until one day a hero called the Gods slayer arrives from the city of Weep and nothing will ever be the same for Lazlo. He is enlisted with others to travel to the city of Weep. The terrible Gods who ruled the city are dead, or are they? A young and beautifully blue Goddess enters Lazlo’s dreams. Her name is Sarai and she is half Goddess and half human, a God spawn. From Sarai, Lazlo learns the truth about Weep. Here Lazlo learns about love and longing and so does Sarai.
Events unfold leading to heartbreak and tragedy, but will love endure? Will love conquer all?
This is such a beautifully written novel, and I am so looking forward to the sequel.

Zoe and her young brother, Jonah are alone in the mountains during a fierce blizzard.  Well, except for the two labs and someone, a very nasty man who wants to kill the dogs, drown them in the lake. This is where X comes in, except that’s not really his name. Where he comes from, most of the inhabitants don’t have names. Well,  at least not any longer.  Zoe names him X because that is the shape his silhouette makes against the orange light. And the orange light is coming from him.

This young adult novel is engaging and keeps the reader turning the pages. Zoe, Jonah and X are interesting characters. The story is fast paced and by the end, the reader is looking for a sequel.  I know I am.

Defy the Stars is a Science Fiction novel and a good one. It is fast paced and the characters are well developed.  The developing relationship between Noemi, a fighter pilot from off planet and Abel, an android who is more human than most humans, is incredibly believable and engaging.  There are no super heroes here, but both of these characters embody the best of human nature. This novel is both character driven and action driven. The best of both!

I couldn’t put this novel down. I hope the author writes a sequel and it seems there may be one.