Posts tagged with book-reviews

Jan 31 2023

Lockwood & Co.: The Series

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I've read several reviews of Netflix's new adaptation of Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co. series that seem to have been written by people unfamiliar with the books, so I thought I'd chip in with a take by someone who adores the source material (and is picky about book-to-film adaptations): it's safe, fellow Lockwood & Co. fans! You're gonna like it...

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May 21 2019

Salty!

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If you, like me, are amused by reading scorched-earth book reviews (they're also the most fun to write!), you should definitely check out NPR's review of Fox News host Mark Levin's Unfreedom of the Press, which includes the following paragraph...

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Apr 16 2012

Bellfield Hall, by Anna Dean

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After reading a glowing review on AustenBlog, my hopes for Anna Dean's 2008 novel Bellfield Hall were high. Sadly, I was underwhelmed. There was nothing hideously wrong with the book, but Dean's various elements never gelled into a compelling whole...

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Mar 21 2012

The Gathering Storm, by Robin Bridges

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It always feels weird to complain about a story having too much plot, but sometimes I can't help it: Robin Bridges's novel The Gathering Storm—the first book in a projected trilogy—races along at a breakneck pace, but it would have been improved by more world-building and less straight-up storytelling.

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Mar 20 2012

India Black, by Carol K. Carr

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Carol K. Carr's debut novel India Black doesn't actually make that much sense, but when a book is as breezily stylish as this one, being a little short on substance is totally forgivable.

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Feb 16 2012

Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

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While looking for something to read on a recent plane trip, I finally cracked open Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's Beautiful Creatures, a book that has been idling on my to-be-read shelf for over two years....

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Feb 15 2012

Persuasion: An Annotated Edition, edited by Robert Morrison

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Before I get started, let me clarify something: this isn't a review of Jane Austen's Persuasion. It's more an extended hissyfit about the annotations featured in this particular edition of Persuasion, and therefore I'm going to assume it's only going to interest my fellow hardcore Austen nerds. (Sorry, non-hardcore-Austen-nerds. Try again tomorrow.) Anyway: VAGUE SPOILERS AHOY.

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May 23 2011

Get out your magnifying glass and deerstalker

If you're interested in Tighter, the Turn of the Screw modernization by Adele Griffin currently featured on the Wordcandy main site, Ms. Griffin has written an iClue mini-mystery featuring two of ...

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Aug 3 2010

Hiss, boo

Seriously, I am so disappointed in you, NPR. As part of their obnoxiously condescending "My Guilty Pleasure" series, author Helen Simonson has contributed an essay on her love for Georgette Heyer...

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Jul 12 2010

Build your own book review

I had never heard of Common Sense Media before yesterday, but their purpose statement sounded innocuous enough: they're a nonprofit organization dedicated to "improving the lives of kids and famil...

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Mar 11 2010

Drawing to a close

Two of Yen Press's titles are coming to an end this spring, so those of you who only buy manga once the entire series has been published should add these titles to your to-be-investigated list, sa...

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Feb 12 2010

Valentine's Day Reading

Hello, darling readers! In honor of Valentine's Day, we'll be featuring two reviews on the site this morning. And because we understand that this is the kind of holiday that inspires mixed emotion...

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Dec 19 2008

The Devil's Breath, by David Gilman

Speaking of books for teenage boys...

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Mar 7 2008

Georgette Heyer rides again!

Much to my delight, Sourcebooks, Inc. is continuing to release beautiful paperback editions of Georgette Heyer novels. Their most recent publication, False Colours, isn’t her best work, but even a...

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Jan 25 2008

Austen Week, part V

Several months ago we were offered a pile of Austen-inspired novels from the fine people at Sourcebooks, Inc.. While all of the titles were entertaining, we were particularly impressed by Sybil G....

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Oct 26 2007

Regency revisited

Michèle Ann Young’s No Regrets features one of the most tantalizing opening sequences I’ve seen in ages, and a plot that borrows heavily from Georgette Heyer. (Hey, if you’re going to borrow your ...

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