Review: Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by The Countess of Carnarvon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars







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Review: X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking

X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking by Jeff Gordinier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book started off being funny and relate-able in the first chapter. That chapter could not stop talking about Nirvana so it's not too secret to me why I enjoyed it so much. You know when you're reading something or talking with someone and it's like everything they say, you have that in common? That wonderful feeling of belonging? That is how this started off. It's like a book-end of goodness with this book. The first and last chapter were my favorite. It got lost in the middle of the book into something I can only describe as an episode of Seinfield. It was a book about absolutely nothing. But not as funny. More like a WTF moment. Then the last chapter arrived and it was getting good again until it dropped off the cliff towards the end.

Overall, not too bad of a read. It really gets lost lost in the middle and the author seems like he's rambling off words about things that have no cohesive bond to the subject or what he started off about. It was a fast read, I read it in one evening so there's not a lot of time investment to check it out.



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Review: French Girl Knits Accessories: Modern Designs for a Beautiful Life

French Girl Knits Accessories: Modern Designs for a Beautiful Life by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I really adore this book. I got it from the library but plan on buying a copy. Not only are the patterns lovely, the book itself is enjoyable to flip through, thinking about what to knit and how it might look, and planning out a project. The author writes beautiful little stories about each pattern and how she came upon the inspiration, which I loved reading. She makes me feel happy, comfortable, and inspired with each page. Definitely will add to my permanent collection. It also makes me feel like planning a quick trip to France, no doubt about that.



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Review: Folk Hats

Folk Hats by Vicki Square

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I love folk everything. But not this... For me, the patterns were far too cheesy and just far flung. They missed the mark of whimsical and jumped off the clip of ridiculous. They are the type of things that are cool in their original manner, but not in knit. It just ruins the history of them and looks like something your crazy Aunt Betty might make you. It could only be worse, if they had been translated into crochet, which would pour on the cheese sauce a great deal more.



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Review: THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY: The Complete Screenplays with Storyboards

THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY: The Complete Screenplays with Storyboards by Christopher Nolan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Review posted at: www.goodreads.com, www.theowlreview.blogspot.com, www.netgalley.com, www.amazon.com

I'm amazed. Honestly, I never would have described myself as a "true fan" of Batman stories. I know The Dark Knight is a bit of different take on it. It's darker, it's grittier, it's, well, more interesting. I was not let down with this book here at all. This is actually the screenplays for the movies, with a little bit of the storyboards at the end of each. Totally unique read.

I was drawn into the story at once. It's a very quick read since it's a screenplay it doesn't take long to get through it. The screenplay aspect was a little distracting with scene direction and character labeling, but it didn't slow me down much.

Bruce Wayne is a fascinating character, and these movies are very well-written. There is action to make it interesting, but the dialogue is really great. That overtone of the darkness in these stories isn't depressing, but it makes it pressing instead. Pressing you to flip the page and absorb what he is going through. The forward-moving tone of the stories makes it something you don't want to put down. I really enjoyed these screenplays, and loved the concept of being able to read through them. If you've seen the movies, you can see them playing out in your head as you read through.

Well-written, and fast-paced to the end, I loved these stories.



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Review: Frozen

Frozen by Mary Casanova

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Review also posted at: www.theowlreview.blogspot.com, www.netgalley.com, www.amazon.com

I was immediately drawn into this story. It begins with a girl who has witnessed something traumatic, but as readers, we don't quite know yet what it was exactly. As the story builds, it's very easy to figure out what happened, but it's the why that is yet to unfold. What she saw, precisely, that left her unable to speak.

This story really did get me interested in the beginning. It's very easy to read and I read nearly half of it in one sitting. Around the halfway mark, I felt that it slowed down. There wasn't too much happening with Sadie Rose and her story other than descriptions of what she was doing on a day-to-day basis. I still wanted to know what happened, but not enough to keep reading for too long at a time. The pacing did pick up again, and that kept me going to the end. I wanted to really love this book, because the premise was there, but it only ended up being warm to me.

Overall, it is an interesting and somewhat of a unique read. The story takes place in the 20's, which is what first piqued my interest, and then of course, wondering what happens to make this little girl unable to speak. It is a fairly fast-read, and a good story/concept. The mystery of all of this, and her coming-of-age, not only in typical fashion, but in coming out of a childhood trauma, is a great aspect of this book.



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Review: Lucretia and the Kroons

Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I was sent an invite from Random House to download a free ARC of this book through NetGalley.

This book is fairly fast-paced and drew me right in. I sped through reading it, and it's a quick-read due to writing style, intrigue, and novella length.

I found it to be enjoyable, and perfect for something quick and easy to read. The story isn't very graphic, and I'm not sure what the age group is for it, but I'm guessing perhaps a teen book.

The main character is 12 years old, and is attempting to cope with her best friend who is dying from cancer. It is an interesting look into a middle-schooler's life in Queens NY. It's not written too seriously, so you can tell it's going to be a bit odd, once you get going with it. All in all, it's a rather bizarre tale, that makes sense at the end once you realize that her trip down the rabbit hole is due to Lucretia's mental illness.

I felt that the ending describing her mental illness as the cause of this weird journey to an alternate world from apartment 6A, could have been much longer, and told much more of a story. I got a little distracted by all the action happening once Lucretia entered the alternate world park. Some parts were hard for me to visualize, and it seemed long in comparison to the more interesting part of WHY she was having this journey. A bigger focus on her mental illness would have been more intriguing to me, but it wasn't the focus of this story. Lucretia meeting these mysterious Kroons was the focus.

After getting to the end, I was happy to find out that there was a reason for her suddenly screaming "Whores!" at her friends and sending them away, her dressing up like a 6 year old at her 12 year old birthday party, and her general oddity. Exploring this aspect in more detail, even in a short story, would have been awesome, in my opinion.

Something that bothered me, besides the too-quick wrap-up at the end of the story, was her alternate world imaginings being explained as being bipolar. It sounds more like schizophrenia to me, but I'm not an expert. I just think it sounds a little off as a reason for her behavior, and it's always hard for me to buy into a story that seems like it has facts that don't match up.

Overall, it was a good read. The author has a great imagination, and it was well-written. I could see this as an episode of Twilight Zone or some odd mini-series. Kind of gave me that early Stephen King feeling.




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