What's Been on my Kindle? - September 2014
50 Shades of Grey by E. L. James
I have to admit I had been curious about this book since it was all the rage a few summers back. I agree with most that the writing leaves a lot to be desired but what I think most people don't give the author credit for is the story. Yes I wanted to give Ms. James a thesaurus when reading
50 Shades but I'll admit I did enjoy her characters. If you can just let your inner critic quiet down, you can find yourself wondering if Grey can get past his demons and childhood traumas to move past his current lifestyle to something more serious and committed.
3 snaps for me.
50 Shades Darker by E. L. James
Yup I read the next one. I enjoyed the first one once I could just let myself approach it as very light reading. The second book goes much deeper into Christian's past and I felt was more robust than its predecessor. Still light and a quick read, the characters have developed further and there is a larger storyline outside the bedroom.
3.5 snaps for me.
Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Glinda of Oz has Ozma and Dorothy on an adventure to a remote corner of Oz, where the Flatheads and Skeezers are approaching war. The Flatheads are ruled by a dictator, Su-dic, who controls his people with an iron fist and the Skeezers are ruled by an evil witch, Coo-eh-oh. Legend has it that the Flatheads were once ruled by Three Adepts who were transformed by Coo-eh-oh into three metal fishes and cast into the lake surrounding the Skeezer island. Dorothy and Ozma find themselves in need of help from Glinda, the Wizard and all their friends to escape this part of Oz and bring peace to the Flatheads and the Skeezers. I really enjoyed this take on a new land in Oz and the introduction of some new magical creatures. A great story about magic and how far one can take it.
5 snaps for me!
The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory
The Kingmaker's Daughter is fourth book of the Cousin's War Series and the third that occurs simultaneously. This book's timeline overlaps with both The Red Queen and The White Queen and this time is told from the perspective of Anne Warwick, daughter of the Kingmaker himself. Born a second daughter to the Neville and Warwick estates, Anne was a pawn of her father during the perilous cousin's war series, who upon the death of her father has to learn to fend for herself. This is my favorite of the Cousin's War thus far since it bounces from York to Lancaster to York once again.
4.5 snaps for me!
The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Book 13 of 15 in the Oz Series has the former King of the Nomes, Ruggedo, returning to wreak havoc on the people of Oz. Coming across a boy who holds the power to transform peoples' forms with a secret magic word, Ruggedo attaches himself to the child in the hopes of staging an uprising against the Ozian population. He reaches out to the beasts of the forest to attack Oz after feeding them a story that Ozma is planning to enslave the beasts. Meanwhile, the fairy ruler's birthday is approaching and her friends are trying to come up the perfect gift. Trot and Captain Bill set off to retrieve a magic flower and find themselves in need of rescue forcing Dorothy, the Wizard, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger to meet the beasts of the forest as they are coming to a vote of war. It's a story that opens us up to further lands surrounding Oz and is a nice change to a more animal themed story.
3.5 snaps for me.
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
I am a huge Philippa Gregory fan. I devoured her series on the Tudors and was so excited to dive into her take on the War of the Roses. I read
The Lady of the Rivers a few months back and really enjoyed it but was not sure which book to take up next. Since
The Red Queen and
The White Queen happen concurrently, you can really go either way. I ultimately decided to go with
The Red Queen first since it started first timeline wise. The story of the grandmother of Henry VIII, mother to Henry VII,
The Red Queen gives a human face to the woman who many historians are divided over. She had a difficult life being married off multiple times due to her royal bloodlines and lived a life away from her son. It's a really great story about a powerful woman who took much of her and her son's future into her own hands and changed England.
4 snaps for me!
The Royal Book of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The last and final book of the Oz series may in fact be my favorite after the original. It follows three of my favorite characters ever, Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow on an adventure to the other side of the world. The Scarecrow, going in search of his family tree, ends up in another world, the land of the Silver Isle, and is deemed the long lost emperor. While finding out one is royalty is exciting, Scarecrow is also trying to figure out how to get back to his friends in Oz. Dorothy and the Lion go out in search of the Scarecrow, fearing his feelings were hurt by Professor Wooglebug's investigations into each characters family histories, and the two of them end up on their own adventure where they find new friends. It feels much like the original in that there are adventures and magic to behold without too many superfluous characters.
5 snaps for me!
The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The 12th book in the Oz series, this is the story of the Tin Woodman and what ever happened to the love he left behind. Th Tin Man undertakes an adventure to find out whatever happened to the girl he was once engaged to long ago and the Scarecrow joins him on his adventure. There is a new character that joins the two pals of Dorothy, Woot the Wanderer and our friend Polychrome, Daughter of Rainbows, is back too! I really enjoyed this book as it gave a richer back story to one of my favorite characters.
4 snaps for me!
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
I found Emma Straub when I came upon
Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures and I knew instantly that I would be reading her next novel,
The Vacationers. This is a story about a family, The Posts, learning to cope with some upheaval in each of their lives. They are spending a few weeks in Mallorca, Spain with their good friend Charles, and his husband Lawrence. Each of the characters lives is in some sort of transition and
The Vacationers is much about how they are handling such change. For Jim and Franny, their marriage is going through a rocky patch; for their daughter Sylvia, she is preparing to leave for college; for their son Bobby, he is figuring out how to make it on his own; and for Charles and Lawrence, they are deciding if they want kids or not. Beautifully written, the book easily changes perspective from character to character. A great read.
4.5 snaps for me!
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
The White Queen is the story of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV of York, daughter to a woman accused of witchcraft who was believed to have been descended from a Water Goddess. Mother to the two boys in the tower, Queen Elizabeth gave birth to a brood of children, including three sons. She met King Edward when she petitioned the court to return her deceased husband's lands to her and her fatherless boys. It is documented that she was quite a beauty and that the king so taken with her married her, a widowed commoner. She was queen during a turbulent time in England's history and spent much of her life hiding or claiming sanctuary when not enjoying her reign as Queen. A very compelling story although full of more magic and witchcraft than any of Gregory's other books.
4 snaps for me.
