Tag: Books

Book Review: Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, ReviewsLeave a comment

This duology was recently recommended to me by a friend and I was intrigued by the premise.  I loved the first book, Strange the Dreamer.  And then the second one, Muse of Nightmares, was good, but much, much darker – which I kind of anticipated going into it. Even though I loved the first one, it was a few weeks before I felt emotionally ready to take on the second one!

The story centers around Lazlo Strange, who dreams of finding the Lost City.  He does find it, but that’s only the beginning of the adventure, involving gods (or are they demons?), mysterious powers, and dark deeds that are still haunting the people who did and witnessed them.  The second book in particular focuses in on horrible events of the past, and the way the trauma lives on for the people who experienced them.  There is a happy ending – I kind of felt all along that there would be, despite the darkness – but it was a rough journey along the way.

There’s a really lovely, lyrical, magical quality to this duology, especially the first book.  Even though we begin to skirt into areas that could be science fiction, especially in book two, it always keeps a very fantasy feel.  There’s some really cool and creative magic in here that I enjoyed.  There’s also a rather lovely romance that I enjoyed as well. Continue reading “Book Review: Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares” →

Video Review: The Little Blue Truck series

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews2 Comments

I’ve been reading a lot of picture books to my baby, even though he’s too small to really appreciate them yet!  That means I get to pick the books we read, and right now one of my great favorites is the Little Blue Truck series.  So I made a video review about it, discussing the plot, characters and worldbuilding of the different installments in the series – and, all importantly, whether each book includes enough times of the Little Blue Truck saying “beep beep beep!”

Watch below, and I hope you enjoy!

 

Blog Hop: Signed Editions

On By cherylmahoneyIn Blog Hop2 Comments

book-blogger-hop-final

Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: Have you ever gotten a book signed by the author?

I’m fortunate to know several great authors personally, and so I have an entire shelf of books signed by them: K. D. Blakely, R. A. Gates, Kelly Haworth, Elizabeth Garner, Dennis Mahoney, A. G. Stewart and Magnus Victor.  I’ve been to two book readings where I got a book signed – a little surprising that it hasn’t been more, actually!  I got signed copies of The Art Lesson by Tomie de Paola, and Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin.  Two very different authors and books!

I have also bought a couple of signed books, without meeting the authors.  I have a copy of Beauty signed by Robin McKinley, and Terrier signed by Tamora Pierce.  I’d love signed copies of books (any books) by L. M. Montgomery (way, way too expensive) or J. M. Barrie (surprisingly less expensive, but pricey) but haven’t made that happen!

Recent Reading Round-up: Parallel Worlds

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews2 Comments

I have been off of the blogosphere for several months now, very busy with a new baby!  Now that he’s a few months old and I’m getting (somewhat) more sleep, I’m hoping to get more activity going here again.  I’ve actually still been reading a fair amount of books – whenever I had any time for a break, reading was about all I had the energy for!

I’d like to catch up by writing about a few of the highlights of my recent reading.  I noticed a theme in that several of the more noteworthy books I’ve read recently involved parallel worlds.  So today, a round-up of those novels!

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This one was recommended to me by a friend, and then I kept seeing it pop up other places.  It seemed to be getting a lot of attention…which may have been a disadvantage, because although I liked it, it probably couldn’t ever live up to the hype.  Nora feels she made all the wrong choices in her life, and on a really, really bad day, she decides to kill herself.  In between life and death, she finds herself at the Midnight Library, which turns out to be a very, very cool place.  Each book in the library represents a different life, a different path she could have gone down, and now she has the chance to visit different lives until she finds the one she wants to live.

I love parallel lives stories…although possibly I’ve read a few too many of them for this particular book.  It felt pretty clear to me by the time she got to the library what her big five or six regrets were.  Sure enough, she goes into other lives to “correct” them one by one, only to find out that it isn’t a better life and she can let go of that regret after all.  It was interesting to watch it all play out and I really liked the writing style here…but it did all go about as I expected all the way through.  But I’ve read a lot of books with a similar premise – it might feel fresher to someone else! Continue reading “Recent Reading Round-up: Parallel Worlds” →

Launch Day: The Confessions of Christine Daaé

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News2 Comments

Today is launch day for my newest novella!  The Confessions of Christine Daaé is a companion story to my Guardian of the Opera trilogy, that finally reveals Christine’s thoughts and motivations throughout the story – and they’re rarely what they seem to be on the surface…

Get your copy here!

This novella is currently only available digitally, although if you’re a paper book reader I do intend to eventually put out a print collection with this story, the prequel and some extra goodies too.

For now, here’s a bit more about the story:

The Phantom’s story has always been one of intrigue and deception, of faces that don’t match the souls behind them – but it may not be the man in the mask who has the most to hide. Readers of the Guardian of the Opera series have already met this very unusual take on Christine Daaé through the eyes of Meg Giry and the Phantom himself. Here you’re invited to learn more than Meg or Erik could ever tell, as Christine finally shares her own story.

Starting with her impoverished childhood with her violinist father, through meeting the young Vicomte de Chagny, and on to the famous disaster at the Opera Garnier, Christine unfolds her true thoughts and feelings. Far from a helpless victim in events, in these pages you’ll find a Christine who knows exactly what she’s doing every step of the way. Why did she really take the Phantom’s mask off? Did she love Raoul or the Phantom? Who or what did she care about most? Read The Confessions of Christine Daaé for a look behind Christine’s carefully concealed mask.