Books, Movies, Theatre Etc...: October 2015

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Book 54 ~ The Bookseller

THE BOOKSELLER
By Cynthia Swanson
© 2015 HarperCollins - NY, NY
ISBN# 978-0--06-233300-1

338 pgs

October 2015

*Goodreads Review*

The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic! In the Bookseller you meet Kitty and Katharyn. Kitty is a single lady who owns a bookshop with her best friend Frieda. Katharyn has met Lars, her soul mate and they are married with three kids. The book weaves through both worlds seamlessly and you begin to wonder which world is real? At one point in the book I thought I had it all figured out - but no, more surprises were in store for me and the main character! I read the book cover to cover in about three days flat. Once you get a taste, you want to see how the story ends. Part sad, part happy a tale of a woman's life and what is or what could have been. My final thought upon finishing the book was Wow! Just Wow! I will look for more Cynthia Swanson books to add to my reading list.

View all my reviews

Book 53 ~ Beyond the Kingdoms

BEYOND THE KINGDOMS: The Land of Stories #4
Written & Narrated by Chris Colfer
© 2015 Hachette Audio - NY, NY

ISBN# 978-1-4789-3391-5

8 hours & 30 minutes on 7 discs

October 2015

*Goodreads Review*

Beyond the Kingdoms (The Land of Stories #4)

Beyond the Kingdoms by Chris Colfer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

With the third installment of The Land of Stories ending on a pivotal cliffhanger I had such high hopes for the fourth story, but in the end they were not fulfilled. The story started out well enough, but somewhere around the middle of the story I began to have the inkling that several story lines were not going to be resolved and pushed into future installments. Sadly my premonition came true.

In this installment the Masked Man jumps from story to story to gather a villian army to rule the fairy tale world. Alex and Connor attempt to stop him, but will they get stuck in another world separated forever?

As I've already said - the stories are not resolved and pushed into the next tome. I do not care for that. It feels like an attempt to churn out more books. At this time I can't say if I will read #5 when it is released.

View all my reviews

Book 52 ~ Last in a Long Line of Rebels

LAST IN A LONG LINE OF REBELS
By Lisa Lewis Tyre
© 2015 Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Group - NY, NY
ISBN# 978-0-399-16838-3

281 pgs

October 2015

*Goodreads Review*

Read by Dorothy Dillingham Blue

6 hours & 35 minutes on 6 discs

Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Lisa Lewis Tyre

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really lovely. The southern euphemisms sprinkled through the book had me laughing out loud. That did manage to garner me some strange looks as I did a good chunk of reading while waiting in the doctor's office!

The story centers around twelve year old Lou, who finds her Great-Great-Great-Grandmother's diary and learns that her family tree contains abolitionists, slave owners, rebels, and more. Armed with the diary and a tale of missing gold Lou's summer mission is to save her family's house from being acquired by the town and demolished. Lisa Lewis Tyre deftly explores issues of racism with characters that make you laugh and cry as you read of their triumphs and tribulations. Lou digs through the past in an attempt to undo wrongs from the past and the present, she believes in justice albeit by using some unorthodox ways. Appropriate for children age 10 and up.

View all my reviews