Deja Vu Review {A Freebie}

The Deja Vu Review is hosted every Sunday by Brittany at The Book Addict's Guide.  It's a chance to write a mini-review for books that you read in your pre-blogging days!

Today's topic is: A Freebie



Turnabout's Fair Play by Kaye Dacus

My Thoughts: I confess that I couldn't seem to ever finish one of Ms. Dacus' books once upon a time. Something always kept me from enjoying them completely. But I kept on trying them because I thought, "Surely I'll like this one." Alas no such luck....until this book happened! I think it had me once I found out the main character writes fanfiction. Yes, you read that right. Fanfiction. (I'll also confess that I'm a reader of fanfiction. Not all the time, but it is a great deal of fun! And there are some fabulous writers of fanfiction out there. ;) It was such a great quirk that I had to read more about this gal! Flannery is quite nerdy in fact, but she doesn't like to admit it out loud. And Jamie is perfect for her, but both of them hide so much from each other that it takes a while for them to realize exactly how much they have in common. But that's part of the adventure! Add in two matchmaking grandparents who think they're being subtle when they're really not, and you have a very fun few hours of reading enjoyment. You should read it!

This book does happen to be part of a series, and it also happens to be book number three of that series. But each book is about a different character, so they all can be read as stand-alone's. However if you're one of those people who has to read a series in order, here's a link to all three books just for you.

Toodle-loo kangaroos!

Deja Vu Review {A Fantasy}

The Deja Vu Review is hosted every Sunday by Brittany at The Book Addict's Guide.  It's a chance to write a mini-review for books that you read in your pre-blogging days!

Today's topic is: A Fantasy




What better epic fantasy than The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner? (I know it's more than one book, but I can't limit this to just one. The entire set is simply fabulous! Plus it's really just one long story anyway.) (As most series are, I suppose. But I digress.) I first heard about them from Angie last year, right around this time actually. Her post (and subsequent reviews) led me over to Chachic's Book Nook where she had a Queen's Thief Week going on. Go and read all the fabulous posts and then I dare you to decide that you won't read these books. It's not possible I tell you! They totally convinced me with all their gushing and so I trekked over to the library and found the whole series. I have to admit that I found The Thief just okay, and while it had an awesome ending, I wasn't blown away yet. So on to The Queen of Attolia. Frankly I was in shock that Ms. Turner could make me read a story with war and war strategies since a good portion dealt with that. Yet she had hooked me in by now, and while I still didn't think the books were fabulous, I was starting to notice details that were intriguing me. (In fact, I remember telling a friend that I was reading this well-written series but I couldn't imagine wanting to re-read them again.) (Silly me.) But then.........oh my goodness! Then I started The King of Attolia! Suddenly all these details from the first two books made a whole lot more sense, I had now fallen in love with Gen, Attolia, Eddis, the Magus, and the rest of the colorful characters, and by the time I finished it, I was feeling quite wind blown! :D A Conspiracy of Kings just solidified that feeling! I couldn't believe all these details that were showing up and things that had happened in the first books suddenly took on a whole new meaning completely. I was totally blown away and in love with these stories and dying to talk to to someone about them. So I now stand firmly in the camp of people gushing about this series and saying that you must read them! NOW! Then come back here and gush about them with me. ;) Seriously though, I encourage you to try them. They do seem kind of slow at first and you may think the way I did; that this isn't as fab as you expected and why should you want to finish. But I beg you just stick with it. Please read at least beyond the first book. Read one and two and then see if you don't want to go ahead and read three and four. It's worth it! :)

Just as a point of interest, Ms. Turner actually takes years to write these books. There's four years between the publishing dates of one and two, six years between two and three, and four more years between three and four. I believe more books are planned, but not out yet. The latest was published in 2010, so we've got a while yet for number five. So she has plenty of time to plan in detail and make sure we get another awesome addition. ;) But don't worry about cliffhangers and such! Each book ends at a point that you could stop and be quite satisfied, yet when you get the next story you realize how glad you are to be back in their lives again. Read it, read it, read it!

Well, that was considerably longer than "mini" wasn't it? Sorry about that. Guess I just needed to get my gushing out of my system! :D

Toodle-loo kangaroos! Happy reading!

The Deja Vu Review {Book With a Food Theme}

The Deja Vu Review is hosted every Sunday by Brittany at The Book Addict's Guide.  It's a chance to write a mini-review for books that you read in your pre-blogging days!

Today's topic is: A Book With A Food Theme


Chateau of Echoes by Siri Mitchell

This isn't a story primarily about food. I couldn't find one of those on my shelf. But Freddie spends a great deal of time in the kitchen of her bed and breakfast. And the food she fixes will make your mouth water! Yet this story is so much more than just the food they eat. Taking place in France, Cranwell has come to Freddie's chateau to research Alix de Montot, a fifteenth century young woman who lived in the chateau. So while we learn about Freddie and Cranwell, we also get Alix's story written in diary form. Cranwell's intrusion into Freddie's well-ordered world, and also learning about Alix's arranged marriage, makes her look at her life and her belief's and how she really feels about it all. Freddie, Cranwell, and Alix are complex people whose layers take a while to peel back one by one. The beauty is in the peeling back. It's gentle and quiet, but soon you're sucked in and don't realize how subtly the characters are changing until there you are! As Freddie herself says, "There were moments of incredible happiness strung together with real life." And several moments of laughter and fun! Don't let the length of this book scare you away. It's a wonderful story and very well worth your time! :)

Toodle-loo kangaroos! Happy reading! :)

The Deja Vu Review {Fave Book Covers}

The Deja Vu Review is hosted every Sunday by Brittany at The Book Addict's Guide.  It's a chance to write a mini-review for books that you read in your pre-blogging days!

Today's topic is: Favorite Book Covers.


My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

Cover: I think this is a great cover. I know some people don't like when the people have part of their heads cut off, but in this instance, I don't mind. It's simple and the focus is on the character's. Which is appropriate for this story.

Review: This is such a sweet romance. Kate and Matt have incredible chemistry! Although Kate's the only one who will admit to it. Matt is all deny, deny, deny. But his pain after losing his wife to cancer is hard to get over, which is understandable. Alas Kate doesn't give up and their journey to each other is cute and fun. One of my favorites to read again and again! :)

Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Cover: I like this cover as well. I especially like that we can't see their faces. I have fun looking at what each lady is wearing to try to figure out who is who. Because while the title says sixteen, there are actually five main ladies that we get to know.

Review: A southern lady, a spinster and her widowed mother, a doctor's wife, a military widow and her son, and an abused divorcee, all on a train and headed west. Each lady is so different, yet they do all have something in common: a desire to get out from whatever situation they want to leave behind. And while they may not look like it, they each also are very willing to work hard to make their lives better. How they view each other changes as they have to rely on one another to survive in Nebraska in 1871. The viewpoint changes from lady to lady, so we get lots of stories and situations going on, but it never gets confusing. Ms. Whitson does an excellent job of jumping from character to character and infusing each one with their own personality so you know what's going on. Plus she's great at ending one character's time in the spotlight with a little cliffhanger which makes you eager to find out what happens next. An excellent historical romance!

 Toodle-loo kangaroos! What are you reading this week?