July Book Review

I always feel like I should get so much reading done over the summer but I find with the weather being so nice, we are just never home!

I did manage to squeeze in some reading thanks to our beach vacation and camping trip so here are my July book reviews. 

  After reading a book by this author last month, I decided to try another one out. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I think I liked this one just a smidge more than the other one. It is a fantasy book but the fantasy part isn't heavy handed at all. The main character is a man who when he was a boy, had the soul of a wolf magically placed into his body against his will. He has battled against it his whole life and finally becomes resigned to the fact that he can ignore the wolf and just live his life. He is sent by his patron (the king's right hand man) to investigate the actions of the prince. He arrives to find the prince dead, killed by a young woman whom the prince had magically infused with an animal spirit as well. From there the story takes all kinds of twists and turns that are both clever and unpredictable. The main characters are likable and the story is never slow. I gave this story a 7 and a half.


When Mark and I were first dating I read This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness - both books I loved. I was very excited to see this one on the bookshelves at our library and I couldn't wait to start reading it. The story is about an older man who is in a car accident that kills his wife. They were famous magicians together (think David Copperfield and Harry Houdini) and soul mates as well. Upon her death, the man decided to no longer practice magic until a young woman enters his life who is astonishingly just like his wife when he had first met her. Same looks, same characteristics, same background, everything. The kicker is, she wants to learn how to do magic tricks and seems to have a natural ability. This story is full of strange things though. When she does certain tricks, other people far away are affected and the question of who is this girl and is his wife really dead all come into play. I personally didn't enjoy the book as much as I though I would and even had a hard time staying with it but that could have been because I tried to read it in 5 to 10 minutes stretches whenever I could. I am only going to give the book a 5 right now but I might have another go at it this winter. 


 This is a book that I have been wanting to read for a long time. I really enjoyed Animal Farm in high school and I wasn't disappointed with this book at all. What amazed me was how many things in the book are still referenced and talked about today. The story is very thought provoking (of course!) and your imagination can't help but wonder what if? It is sad in a similar way that Animal Farm bummed me out at the end but it is such a look in the mirror at what society is like that when you put it down you aren't thinking sad things, you are wondering how can I change things? I really liked this book but I love the story of how Mark's cousin had to read this book before his wife would marry him even more! That's a woman who knows the importance of a good book!


 I had heard so much about these books that I finally just had to read them to see what all the fuss was about. People were using words like captivating, scintillating, and provocative. When I was at a used book store I ease- dropped on a conversation between two ladies and how these were the best books they had ever read. So I really had no choice in the matter - I had to read them! Hmmm... what to say though. I know that many will disagree with me but I must admit I just wasn't that impressed. There are so many things I didn't like about the books: it's a twilight rip-off with a lot more sex, all the two main characters do is fight and f*^# (in all kinds of ways of course), the plot lines are seen from a mile off and they really aren't that good, etc.  (I'm probably going to get some major heat for saying all those bad things about these books!) I did read all three and I though the first one was the "best" of the three but I am only going to give these books an overall 4. 

I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella and I first read this book a few years ago during my annual Wallowa Lake retreat with my college girl friends. Hailey had brought it along and I quickly took it over and read it during the 3 days we were there. I loved it! It is hilarious, silly, and a perfect fast, funny read. I have reread it probably at least 4 times and each time it still cracks me up. I give this book a 9 - not because it is clever and thought provoking but because it always puts me in a good mood when I read it and makes me laugh out loud. Important qualities in a book for me!