Tag: book reviews

Review: Good Omens

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Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, WitchGood Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve never read anything by either Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett before, so I went into Good Omens with no expectations. The story focuses on the coming apocalypse, its players, and how the forces of Good and Evil are working to sway things their way.

UPDATE (June 2019): Good Omens has been released as a miniseries on Amazon (and is free for Prime members to watch). It encompasses the heart of this book and (in my opinion) excels it through its engaging visuals, actors, and storytelling. Watch it here!

(The book review continues below.)

The story is a fairly quick read, though the first 50-60 pages are a bit tough to get through. I consider myself to have a good sense of humor and enjoy a lot of British humor, and while I could recognize all the things that should be funny, I have to admit none of them actually made me laugh. (Had I been about 10 years younger? Probably.) But the writing was lighthearted and poked fun at everything, a contrast that worked well with the subject matter.

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Review: The Rogue’s Wager

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Note: I’m taking a Science Fiction & Fantasy course through mid-December and am focused on reading short stories (from a Sci-Fi anthology collection) and novels (The Three-Body Problem, Good Omens) for that. I’ll review all of those as well, but in the meantime my normal reviews will mostly be on-hold.

The Rogue's WagerThe Rogue’s Wager by Christi Caldwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Out of all the Christi Caldwell books I’ve read, this is only the second time I’ve given one less than at least 4 stars. I liked the book, but certainly didn’t love it.

Helena Banbury is a bookkeeper in a gaming hell that belongs to her brothers. Lord Robert is a marquess who is distrustful of women thanks to a past lover. These two meet when Robert drunkenly stumbles into the wrong hallway, and from there fate takes over as Helena gets thrust into Society.

When these two characters are together, you get a true sense of their friendship and trust building. There are a few obligatory misunderstandings, but they’re minor and easily worked past. Both Helena and Robert are guarded, but eventually that friendship tears their barriers down. With that foundation of character building, their budding romance is completely believable.

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Review: To Love and to Cherish

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To Love and to CherishTo Love and to Cherish by Lauren Layne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ll start with this disclaimer: I did not read the previous books in this series. I’ll continue with another disclaimer: Even though my feelings are lukewarm about this particular book, I enjoyed the supporting characters enough that I will go back and read their stories.

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Review: A Kiss At Christmastide

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A Kiss At ChristmastideA Kiss At Christmastide by Christina McKnight

My Goodreads rating: 3 of 5 stars

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

A Kiss at Christmastide is a clean regency era romance novella. I found it a fun read, but the characters were just okay, there was far too much repetitious internal reflections, and their romance didn’t feel very natural.

In the prologue we’re introduced to Lady Pippa, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Midcrest who was about to be introduced to society. For some reason (that we never discover) her best friend (Lady Natalie) turns on her, making her the embarrassment of the Season before it even begins.

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Review: Wicked Intentions

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Wicked IntentionsWicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I started reading the Maiden Lane series with Dearest Rogue back in May 2015, then worked my way backward (then forward with new releases! <3), but had skipped books #1 and #3. Wicked Intentions is the first entry in the series.

The story centers around Temperance Dews, a widow and sister to Winter Makepeace, who runs the foundling home in St. Giles. The male lead is Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, who enjoys translating poetry, is frowned upon by society for his sexual proclivities, loathes being touched, and—oh yes—is looking for a murderer.

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